RICHMOND — Richmond High School junior forward Kelsea Anair has perfected a move that has afforded her the opportunities to grab offensive rebounds off of missed free throws.
Figure, Anair pulled down seven offensive boards, leading to 12 points in the Bobcats’ 49-34 East-West Conference victory over Buckfield in regular-season finale action, giving Richmond a 12-6 mark.
Combined with Hyde’s loss to Valley, Richmond first-year coach Mike Ladner feels his team will go into the Western D tournament as the No. 3 seed, No. 4 at the worst.
Anair finished with a game-high 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in all, joining teammate Sydney Tilton with a double-double. Tilton was dominant in the paint, securing 19 rebounds while collecting 15 points. Richmond outrebounded the Bucks (6-12), 37-18.
“I have a move I do to get around that player, and I work on that a lot in trying to get to those rebounds,” said Anair, who had plenty of chances to perfect the move as Richmond was just 15-of-37 at the charity stripe. “We really need to work on our foul shots. Other things are coming together, but free throws have not. We just need to work on it more. It is shocking to be heading straight to Augusta. A new coach, all of us learning, and things have just come together.”
“Those points were huge,” Ladner said. “Kelsea is aggressive. I asked her to step up tonight and assert herself, and she did. We were pretty thin on the bench (just eight players dressed), so we needed her effort.”
The Bucks suffered through a tough shooting night, especially in the second half as Buckfield made just 2-of-27 shots. After allowing 33 points in the first half, Buckfield’s defense played better, forcing 31 Richmond turnovers and holding the Bobcats to just 16 second-half points.
“We talked at the half that we can’t allow 33 points in a half if we are going to win,” said Buckfield coach Ryan Wilkins. “We had to try and play better defense on Tilton. We did an OK job, but we just don’t have the size. Effort was very good, and I thought we ran a lot of good stuff and got some good looks.”
Richmond jumps ahead
The opening quarter was close. After Richmond grabbed a 9-3 lead behind five points from Cassidy Harriman, Buckfield began chipping away. Brianna Damon came off the bench to score five points, while Alexis Bennett had four points as the Bucks trailed 14-11 after one.
Richmond strung together a solid run to begin the second. Tilton and Anair combined on 15 points in the frame, with the Bobcats extending out to a 33-22 halftime advantage.
“We knew we had to put pressure on their guards, because once the ball gets inside we are at their mercy,” said Wilkins.
The third quarter was sloppy. Neither team scored through three minutes. Buckfield missed all 13 of its shots from the field in the quarter, with Richmond finishing with a 6-4 edge in scoring for a 39-26 lead.
“We had a lot of travels, just way too many,” said Ladner. “We will be working on things this week.”
Four times in the fourth quarter, Anair grabbed a missed Richmond free throw to give her team extra possessions. She scored six more points to finish Buckfield off, with the Bucks going 2-for-14 from the floor in the quarter.
“This wasn’t a must-win, but we wanted to play well heading into the tournament after a rough January,” said Wilkins after his team shot 20 percent (11-of-54) in the game and made 12-of-20 at the charity stripe.
Bennett led Buckfield with 12 points, while Damon finished with nine.
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