CARROLLTON – Richmond varsity girls basketball coach Kaylee Vantrump and her Spartans have gone on the road to start their summer workouts.

But not too far on the road. “I know a lot of people have softball and volleyball and work and a lot of things, so I’m trying to find close shootouts to where I can get as many girls to attend as possible,” Vantrump said Monday.

The Spartans opened their summer with a June 2 shootout at Lawson, followed by the River Valley Shootout – a three-day series of games that started Monday and ended Wednesday, hosted by Carrollton High School. The Lawson shootout went well, particularly considering the circumstances, according to Vantrump.

“We only had six players and one of our girls got hurt, so the last two out of three games, we had to play with five. … They were looking for each other and finding each other,” said Vantrump, a Richmond graduate who’s entering her second year of leading the program. “We ended up beating a team that we (had) lost to by quite a bit last summer, so it showed a lot of improvement.”

That team was Braymer, Vantrump said. As the Richmond News reported, Richmond hosted the Bobcats in June 2022. The varsity Spartans lost 47-33, but the junior varsity Spartans won 4533.

Richmond opened the River Valley Shootout with losses to Meadville and California. They finished their 37-26 loss to Meadville by staging a 14-3 run.

“(We) were just moving the ball a lot quicker,” Vantrump said of the surge. “We were looking for backdoor cuts, which I think we’re still getting in the process of being able to see … (those). … We were looking to score more and looking to find the open man.”

The Spartans “took the ball to the basket well and kept passing it around” in chipping away at their deficit, according to guard Kaylee Pugh, who’ll be a senior this fall. Emma Hash, who’ll be a sophomore, agreed. In addition, the Spartans “had good communication on the court,” Hash said.

Richmond fell 67-24 to California. The Spartans trailed 33-15 at halftime and were outscored 34-9 in the second half.

“We knew coming in that we were outsized, and we definitely … (didn’t) have a lot numbers,” Vantrump said. “And so, they were just hustling the best they could; and (we’ll) take this as a learn-from-your-mistakes (experience), … like I told them. I said, ‘I don’t care if you mistakes because that’s what we’re here for is to learn and get better.’” Hash was pleased with Richmond’s performance against California.

“We had good communication,” she commented. “I think it’s good that we kept pushing because the score was obviously kind of … (troubling).”

The Spartans “took good shots” against California, Pugh said.

“We got a little bit tired at the end,” she said. “And that kind of took a toll.”

Richmond was scheduled to play two games both Tuesday and Wednesday, with the final opponent to be Hardin-Central, Vantrump stated in a recent email.

The Spartans’ schedule also lists appearances in a summer league hosted by Benton of St. Joseph. The Spartans are slated to play there June 12, 21, 26 and 28.