Midway’s JV girls got their second win in just over a week against 3A South Johnston, defeating the visitors 26-20 Thursday afternoon.

The Raider girls started off slow offensively, scoring only 6 points in the opening frame, but the defense held strong, holding the visitors scoreless in the first quarter.

Midway put up 10 more point before the half and only allowed South Johnston to score 4 before the second quarter ended.

“I wasn’t satisfied with the way we were playing,” coach Allan McLamb said of his team’s first half performance so we made some adjustments at the half and came back out and played better.”

Midway outscored the visitors 12-6 in the third quarter to take a 22-10 lead.

Better foul shooting and fewer turnovers made the difference, according to the coach.

“We shot horribly from the foul line in the first half, but then in the second we were about 75 percent from the line. That, plus we didn’t turn the ball over, helped us out.”

By the fourth period, McLamb was able to play a lot of girls, giving them what he called “teaching time” on the court.

Brianna Butler had an impressive night for the JV Raiders, leading scoring with 5 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. Ashlyn Warren also had a good night on the boards, pulling down 6 rebounds and scoring 4 points.

Also scoring for Midway were Kimberly Sublett, Savannah Spell and Savannah Bullins, with 4 each; Chakeera Rhodes and Brittany Watson, 2 a piece; and Hannah Croom, 1.

Richlands

Poor shooting from the charity stripe left Midway wanting and visiting Richlands with a W in a game Wednesday afternoon. Final score was 34-28.

“We really lost it in the third quarter,” JV Raider coach Allan McLamb said. “That and we just couldn’t hit from the foul line.”

The JV Raider girls were 5 for 14 from the line compared to Richlands who sunk 14 of their 20 from the charity stripe. “That pretty much was the ball game,” McLamb pointed out. “You’ve got to make the shots from the free throw line count and we just didn’t.”

The game started off on an even pace with the two teams knotted at 6 after one period. Midway got a slight edge in the second frame, going into the half with an 11-10 lead. Then, back from the break, Richlands broke it open a little, going ahead 25-19 and really never looking back.

“Defensively we played a really good game, but offensively we played just OK. Let’s just say I know the girls can play better they they did. But we’re still young and growing. Still, we’ve got to get better from the stripe,” McLamb said.

Leading the way for the JV girls was Savannah Spell with 7 points, Taylor Faircloth with 7 and Chakeera Rhodes with 7. Brianna Butler had 3, Megan Smith, 2; and Savannah Bullins, 2.

South Johnston

Late last week, the Raiders secured a 26-17 road win against South Johnston. “Coming off the Clinton game, we started out a little slow. We were really not playing very focused but then they turned it on in the second quarter and we shut down South Johnston,” McLamb said.

South Johnston took an early 6-4 lead in the low-scoring game and took a 1 point, 9-8, advantage into the half.

But back from the break, the young Raider girls found their footing and went ahead of the home team 15-11 and maintained their momentum until the final buzzer.

Although shooting was better overall, McLamb said they still had trouble from the charity stripe, shooting only 8 of 15 from the line.

“But our transition was good and we were able to get play from a lot of girls which made the difference.”

In the South Johnston game, Spell had 9 points, Ashlyn Warrren, 4; Butler, 3; Bullins, 3; Brittany Watson,2; Faircloth, 2, Emily Willis, 2; and Rhodes 1.

Rhodes, McLamb said, had a great defensive game.

“Again, we’ve just got to get to to the foul line and make some points,” McLamb said.

Midway’s JV girls have a week off before returning to the court Dec. 14 when they travel to Triton.