FORTVILLE, Ind. – Richmond’s 9-0 run through the North Central Conference gave the Red Devils their first conference title since 2000, but it came without a former conference rival.
That victory over long-time NCC member New Castle was a little sweeter on Wednesday night, when the Red Devils defeated the Trojans 71-54 in the opening round of IHSAA Class 4A Mt. Vernon Sectional.
“At the end of the day, Richmond just wanted it more, and their athleticism just destroyed us,” New Castle coach Corie West said. “Complete, hats off to them. They wanted that game from start to finish and we just couldn’t keep up with their athleticism.”
New Castle has produced winning seasons in each of West’s first two years on the job, though the Trojans have lost in the first round at sectionals both times. The 2014-15 Trojans finished the year 16-6.
Laura Thomas led the Trojans with 19 points Wednesday, while Samantha Underwood added 15 and Zoe Curtis had 12, along with a team-high four rebounds.
“The girls deserve all the credit,” West said. “Right now, it’s hard to see. You just see this loss, the season’s over and the girls have done an excellent job. It’s disheartening, because, yeah, we’ve had two winning seasons in a row, but it’s kind of all for naught when you can’t get past the first round of sectional. It’s disheartening, we don’t have any seniors, though, so we’re going to come back and work as hard as we can.”
It was Richmond’s first sectional victory since 2007.
The Red Devils (18-6) face host Mt. Vernon in Friday’s 7:30 semifinal after the Marauders defeated Greenfield-Central 45-43 in Wednesday’s first game. Connersville defeated Pendleton Heights 43-39 Tuesday and will face Anderson at 6 p.m. Friday with the championship scheduled for 7:30 Saturday night.
Mt. Vernon defeated Richmond 73-40 in the regular-season meeting, but the Red Devils were without Division I signee Mackenzie Taylor and Lexus Perkins was nursing an injury.
“It’s definitely going to be a different game,” Taylor said. “We’re playing really well together, and I think our chemistry’s really high and that’s something you really can’t make up for in stats. Chemistry kind of speaks for itself, so I think it’s going to be a different game this week.”
Three Red Devils finished in double figures Wednesday, led by sophomore Destiny Perkins, who had 20, along with eight steals and six assists.
Lexus Perkins had a game-high eight rebounds and 16 points, while Taylor added 14 points, and senior Paetyn Claiborne added nine points.