Hot 4-0 start boosts outlook for Richton Lady Rebels basketball this season

By Stan Caldwell

Dispatch Correspondent

Despite missing one of their key players, the Richton girls opened the 2025-26 girls basketball season on a winning note last week against North Pike and followed that with three more wins to roll into this weekend with a 4-0 record.

The Rebels used a methodical approach on both ends of the court to secure a 48-42 victory over North Pike Nov. 8 in the Warrior Classic on the Oak Grove High School campus, boosting hopes that they can get further in the postseason. Lopsided victories over Mount Olive, George County and St. Andrew’s Episcopal suggests they can.

“We believe in a pressure defense, and we want to live in transition,” said Richton head coach Otto Crawford. “We got a little flat at times, complaining about fouls. But we just had to play through it.

“To be a great team, you have to play through contact, forget the calls you don’t get and play on. But our MO is pressure defense and transition off that. But for the first game, it wasn’t bad.”

Richton was 18-12 last season, and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Class 2A playoffs. A win against a Class 5A school that was 22-7 last season will help season the Rebels for an extended postseason run.

“It’s much easier to run your offense with people you know, and how they play,” said senior Dherria Barlow, who averaged 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds last season. “I’m so excited to be playing with this group again, and I think we can make it all the way this year.”

The Rebels played without senior Nylah Robins, who is out for the first few games of the season with a shoulder injury. Robins averaged 10.7 points and 6.6 rebounds a game last season, so she will be a welcome presence when she returns to the lineup.

This was a contrast in styles, as Richton likes a half-court game and a deliberate approach on offense, while the Jaguars live and die by the 3-point shot.

North Pike took and made enough treys to make for an entertaining, hard-fought contest, but the Rebels got to the basket for layups or drawing fouls.

“Our kids got to the line and made free throws, and that’s what we want, attack the basket for easy shots and fouls,” said Crawford. “That carried us through at the end.”

And they won it at the foul line, converting 16 of 23 free throws, including 11 of 15 in the fourth quarter. The Jags, by contrast, were just 5 of 15 from the line.

Senior Rakhiya Moody led the Rebels in scoring and rebounding last season, with 14.4 points and 8.0 rebounds, but she picked up three quick fouls in the first quarter, and while she stayed in the game until the fourth quarter, it hampered her defensive presence.

“It’s hard playing with foul trouble, I believe in my teammates, and I know they’ve got my back,” said Moody. “I just had to play through it without fouling, something I had to learn how to do.”

Richton led through the first quarter, taking a 10-6 lead into the second period, but that’s when North Pike started finding the range from beyond the arc.

“We were getting a little flat early on in the first half, and that’s when they made that run on us,” Crawford said. “We came back out after halftime, and we started getting our pressure defense working again. That was what carried us through to the end.”

The Jaguars were 6 of 17 from 3-point range in the first half, and they used outside shooting to roar into the lead, and they would lead the rest of the first half, beating the buzzer for a trey to take a 27-19 lead into halftime.

“We work well together as a team, so it’s much easier to play defense when everyone is working together,” said Barlow. “As long as we know our chemistry is good, we all know what we need to do.”

The Rebels don’t utilize the 3-point shot much, but sophomore Zhyion Porter swished one from the right baseline on the opening possession of the second half – Richton’s only trey in six attempts – and they clamped down on defense.

Richton has more depth this season than it had in Crawford’s first two seasons head coach, with some talented youngsters growing into the varsity program.

One of them, freshman Baylee Autry hit a four-foot jumper out of a fast break, then was good the left side on a eight-footer. Barlow capped an 11-1 run with a layup to give Richton a 30-28 lead.

“We’ve still got some youth on our team, kids who helped us out a bit last year,” Crawford said. “They’re getting a lot of experience at a young age that will help us down the road.

“We want to build a program at Richton that kids want to come out and play, and love what they do. I try to recruit the school for the kids that are maybe overlooked.”

But North Pike sank yet another 3-ball to beat the third quarter buzzer and take a one-point lead into the final period. And the Jags built it into a five-point lead with a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, and a 15-foot jump shot.

But Autry hit one from short range, then Barlow got a putback layup to put Richton ahead 37-36. North Pike broke a lengthy scoring drought with a layup, but Moody drew a foul and converted both free throws, seconds before fouling out.

“Leading the team and being with my other seniors, it’s pretty easy,” said Moody. “I really think we can make it a long way. If we keep working hard, practicing hard we can be successful.”

Then it was up to sophomore Caedence Amos-Smith, Richton’s designated foul shooter, who calmly sank 7 of 8 from the line in the final 2:14 to secure the victory.

“If you’re going to play that stall offense at the end, you have somebody you’re confident can go to the line and knock them down,” Crawford said. “Caedence is just a sophomore, but we depend on her to be that person for us.”

Barlow led Richton with 17 points, Autry added 9 points and Moody finished with 8 points.

Richton made its home debut Tuesday night with a 63-21 win over Mount Olive, and claimed road games Wednesday at George County (61-44) and Thursday at St. Andrew’s . The Rebels dropped down to Class 1A this season, but Crawford doesn’t see any drop in the level of competition from 2A, with Taylorsville, Resurrection Catholic, Stringer and Lumberton as region 1-8A foes.

“We want to play the toughest opponents we can early on to give them that experience that will help us down the road, when we get into our region,” said Crawford.

“We had a few games last year that we lost at the end, in the last few minutes. But I think we should be more comfortable this year, especially with the four seniors we have.”