WILLARD, Ohio — It’s a winning streak and Lady Lex hasn’t experienced one in a while.
Whitney Wendling scored a team-high nine points and Julia Kocher grabbed 20 rebounds and blocked six shots as Lexington stopped Galion 34-25 in the opening game of a Division II sectional doubleheader Tuesday at Robert L. Haas Gymnasium.
After dropping their first 20 games, Lady Lex (2-20) knocked off St. Peter’s 51-44 on Feb. 17. The momentum carried into the postseason as Lexington won consecutive games for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
“It would have been when Alissa Munro and Taylor Whitaker and that group were seniors,” Lexington coach Michael Kathrein said when asked when Lady Lex had won consecutive games. “After working hard all season and having nothing to show for it, it feels good to finally win a couple of games.
“We’re playing much smarter and we’re starting to make some more shots.”
Lexington led 27-25 heading to the fourth quarter, but outscored the Tigers (3-18) 7-0 in the final period. Galion misfired on all seven of its fourth-quarter field goal attempts, was 0 for 2 from the free throw line and committed six turnovers.
“Shooting-wise, we had a lot of good looks but we missed a lot of layups,” Galion coach Bryce Lehman said. “We had been playing a lot better offensively the last two or three weeks. We took a huge step backward tonight.
“We played scared the entire ballgame.”
While the Tigers failed to score in the fourth, the defense allowed Galion to hang around until late in the fourth. A Michaela Biddle layup off a Wendling assist gave Lady Lex a 32-25 advantage with 2:38 remaining, making it a three-possession game.
“We struggled in the paint in the first half, but we scored some points in the paint in the second half,” Kathrein said. “That was good to see.
“Defensively, we have goals to keep opponents to fewer than 10 points a quarter. I was very pleased with the effort at the defensive end.”
Kocher had six points, while Biddle had five for Lady Lex.
Taylor Valentine topped Galion with a game-high 11 points. Lauren Huggins had nine.
Streak: Galion saw a streak of its own extended, much to Lehman’s chagrin. The Tigers haven’t won a tournament game in 22 years.
“How can you do that?” Lehman asked. “It just makes you sick to your stomach because you are so close.”
Long Layoff: The Tigers last game was Feb. 9, a layoff of more than two weeks.
“We had three postponements and one game canceled,”Lehman said. “That didn’t help, but it’s not the reason we lost tonight. We lost tonight because Lexington wanted it more.”
Tough Draw: Lexington’s reward for winning two straight is a sectional final date with No. 1 seed Bellevue at Willard on Thursday. The state-ranked Lady Redmen (21-1, 12-0) capped a perfect run through the Northern Ohio League with a 64-61 overtime win at Willard on Monday.
“We’ve got a tough test on Thursday,” Kathrein said. “They have the district player of the year (senior guard Carley Santoro), but it’s not just her. They have a great team.”
Lexington’s reward for winning two straight is a sectional final date with No. 1 seed Bellevue at Willard on Thursday. The state-ranked Lady Redmen (21-1, 12-0) capped a perfect run through the Northern Ohio League with a 64-61 overtime win at Willard on Monday.
