Richmond varsity girls basketball coach Kayle Vantrump saw her Spartans continue to make strides in the execution of their man-to-man defense Feb. 9, when they hosted Lexington for mat/ courtwarming as part of a varsity girlsboys doubleheader.

Richmond’s 42-33 Missouri River Valley Conference (MRVC)-East Division loss marked the second time the Spartans had faced the Minutewomen in three weeks. Lexington won the first meeting 57-30 Jan. 19 at Lexington.

During the first meeting, the Spartans played 2-3 zone defense, Vantrump recalled. In employing man-to-man during the rematch, they emphasized “just covering the shooters and making sure that we … (stopped) their dribble drive, she said.

“They did do a much better job of that tonight,” Vantrump said.

As the Richmond News reported, the Spartans began playing man-to-man defense a few weeks ago during the Richmond Winter Classic. The girls continue to buy into playing man-to-man because of the responsibilities involved, according to Vantrump.

“…