By Thomas Grant Jr.
Revenge games and personal milestones have become synonymous with the Molly Goodrich era at Lexington High School.
The winningest girls’ basketball coach in school history has inspired her team after losing a first meeting with an opponent to decisive victories in rematches.
The trend continued last Friday at home against Irmo. Lexington looked to avenge a 65-59 road loss to the Lady Yellow Jackets on Jan. 5.
This time, the Lady Wildcats led from start to finish in the 63-28 win. After jumping out to a 5-0 lead, they used a 9-0 run capped by a buzzer-beating layup by Cassidy Harry to take a 21-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Senior center Sydni Anderson helped break the game open in the second quarter. She scored 10 of her 20 points and her shot-blocking limited Irmo’s post offense.
Meanwhile, Lexington’s defense slowed down the tandem of Amy Livingston and eighth grader Lailah Singletary. Both were defended more intensely than the first meeting and combined for only 16 points.
With Lexington up 40-18 at halftime, it was Harry’s turn to lead the offense. She accounted for 11 of the Lady Wildcats’ 23 points in the third quarter to extend the lead as many as 40 points.
Harry had 20 points to match Anderson, who reached a milestone in the third quarter. A 3-point play allowed her to reach 1,000 career points.
Anderson joined an exclusive Lady Wildcat club that includes former University of South Carolina national champion Olivia Thompson, Lyndsay Garner and Alexis Sexton.
This Friday, Lexington has another important rematch against an Irmo foe. The Lady Wildcats play host to Dutch Fork looking to clinch the Region 4-5A title with a series sweep should then defeat Chapin Tuesday.
The boys game between Lexington and Irmo also had a “revenge” theme. It was the Yellow Jackets, fresh off their win over former number one Dutch Fork, looking to split the season series with the Wildcats and take sole possession of first place.
Lexington led by 10 in in the third quarter. A rally sparked by Christian Brown allowed Irmo to cut the deficit to two points.
With the Wildcats up 38-35, Tanner McCray ended a 4-minute scoring drought by both teams to start the fourth quarter with a game-tying 3-pointer.
A free throw by Samarion Glenn and follow up tip-in by Sam Mills gave Lexington a 43-40 lead. Brown then connected from beyond the 3-point line to deadlock the game again with 2:30 left.
Irmo got a Khiry White layup and steal and dunk by Kaleb Copeland to go ahead 47-43.
A dunk by Mills pulled Lexington within a basket with 1:16 left. Free throws by Copeland, McCrae and Brown extended the lead to 51-45 when Lexington’s Jacob Bouchard connected on a 3-pointer with 20.3 seconds left to make it 51-48.
Irmo had an opportunity to close out the game at the free-throw line. Oshun Browman missed both attempts with 20.3 seconds and Lexington rushed the upcourt looking to tie the game.
The Wildcats missed two shot attempts from behind the arc. Sam Mills lost the ball following a putback attempt and the Yellow Jackets’ Brown beat the buzzer with a layup to end the game.
S.C. BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION TOP 10 POLL
GIRLS
Class 5A
(Division I)
1. Byrnes, 2. Blythewood, 3. Dorman, 4. Mauldin, 5. Lexington, 6. Wando, 7. Spartanburg, 8. Carolina Forest, 9. Ridge View, 10. Clover
Patriots on a roll
With three straight wins and a season sweep of Saluda, American Leadership Academy has control of its own destiny.
The 54-40 win over the Tigers clinched the tiebreaker for the Patriots. Justin Richberg had 16 points, Brice Newton finished with 15 points and Braxton Redding scored eight points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Coached by former Wildcat Tyson Bouknight, American Leadership Academy will have two “revenge games” this week. It traveled to Strom Thurmond Tuesday and plays host to Batesburg-Leesville on Friday.
Photo from Goflashwin.com
