Hot-shooting Red Devils freeze out Patriots

Even though it was a mild fall night, there was a blizzard in Richmond’s Tiernan Center on Saturday night.

A blizzard of Richmond girls basketball 3-pointers early during an 89-36 victory over visiting Union County.

Nailing 12 first-half treys, the Red Devils sprinted to a 62-19 halftime lead.

The lopsided outcome gave RHS a 2-0 season record after the first two nights against area teams. The outcome dropped the visiting Patriots to 0-2 on the first weekend of the new season.

Richmond’s outside shooting was blistering, as five first-quarter treys, plus harassing full-court pressure, gave the hosts a 26-6 lead after one quarter.

Then it got even better for the home team.

Seven of eight 3-point fielders in the second quarter, contributing to a 36-point quarter, gave RHS an eye-popping score by halftime, more points than the team scored (55) in the entire game Friday night.

Even RHS coach Casey Pohlenz seemed amazed, even after the game.

“I’ve never seen us shooting the ball like that, not even in practice, layup lines or anything,” said Pohlenz, whose team finished with 14 treys.

Leading scorer Mackenzie Taylor of Richmond had 33 points, including five 3-pointers, and talked about her team’s performance.

“We haven’t shot the ball like that together, but I know we can shoot like that individually,” the sophomore standout said. Taylor had 24 points in the first half alone.

For Union County, Ryleigh Waltz had a team-high 18 points, and Leah Gabbard added 10. For the Devils, Brooklyn Taylor made four 3-pointers and added 21 points, while Bailey Hillard scored 15.

“Tonight (Saturday), was a real challenge for us, and we knew it would be,” said Union County coach Pat Tafelski. “This tested us, character-wise, and we are doing all we can to get better, and we will.”

RHS is off until Nov. 21, when Northeastern visits for a girls and boys varsity doubleheader. Union County stays on the road next weekend, visiting a strong Randolph Southern team Friday night.