LEXINGTON, Ohio — First-year Lexington coach Brian Thompson had to wait an extra couple of weeks to get his first win.
Lady Lex’s wait for an Ohio Cardinal Conference victory was considerably longer.
Courtney Gouge scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Lexington knocked off backyard rival Clear Fork 38-31 Thursday at Lexington.
It was the first game of the season for Lady Lex, which got off to a late start because of the volleyball team’s run to the Final Four.
Moreover, it was Lexington’s first OCC victory since the 2011-12 season.
“I didn’t realize how long it had been. It’s a great feeling,” Thompson said. “The girls have talked about winning the whole time we were working in the summer and in the preseason. They were ready for a win.
“We had to change the culture. … They’ve bought into it and I think it will pay dividends down the road for sure.”
Second-Half Surge: Leading 18-16 at halftime, Lexington took control in the third quarter. Lady Lex outscored the Colts (1-1, 0-1) 12-4 in the period and took a 30-20 lead on Emilee Parker’s layup at the buzzer.
“The girls were a little more aggressive,” Thompson said. “They boxed out and just made sure they weren’t giving up easy shots.”
The Colts finally broke a lengthy scoring drought when Montana Walker knocked down a mid-range jumper with 6:02 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut Lexington’s advantage to 31-22. Clear Fork drew within five points on Darian Gottfried’s 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining, but could get no closer.
“They rebounded better than we did in the second half,” Clear Fork coach Heidi Roush said. “We had them for seven offensive rebounds in the first half and they had seven in the third quarter. We didn’t rebound well enough to win.”
Leaders: Olivia Kearns backed Gouge with nine points and eight rebounds. Abigail Adams had seven points for Lady Lex.
“It was an entire team effort,” Thompson said. “It’s not just one. It takes all five of them to win.”
Sarah Swank led the Colts with eight points. Gottfried added five points.
Rebuilding: The Colts were 19-5 last winter and advanced to the district semifinals, but lost a wealth of talent to graduation, including OCC Player of the Year Deijah Swihart and first teamer Morgan Bailey.
“It’s going to have to be more of an all-around team effort,” Roush said. “We lost a lot of experience on the defensive end and that is where we are struggling.
“These are kids who are just getting their first varsity minutes. That’s where we are right now.”
