HIGGINSVILLE – Richmond’s March 8 meeting with Excelsior Springs was on the Spartans’ minds as they prepared to face the Tigers again Monday night in varsity girls basketball, according to Richmond coach Kaylee Vantrump. “Excelsior’s a very strong team,” Vantrump said. “They’re a very physical team. So we kind of looked back on last year and talked about what we did well and what we needed to improve on. That kind of set the tone for how we were coming in today.” Fueled by their reflections, the Spartans held off a second-half Excelsior Springs surge to open the Husker Classic, hosted by Lafayette County of Higginsville, with a 46-37 win. The victory put the Richmond girls in the winner’s-bracket semifinals against Oak Grove/ DeLaSalle, scheduled for Wednesday. With the victory, the Spartans also avenged their 4845 loss to Excelsior Springs in March in the Class 4 District 15 championship game. It was the last of three meetings between the Missouri Highway 10 rivals during the 2024…