LEXINGTON — Avery Coleman and her Lexington teammates are beginning to find their footing again.
The Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, Coleman combined for 29 points in a pair of Lady Lex victories last week. She dropped a team-high 16 points and came up with a critical block in the closing seconds of a 43-42 double overtime victory at Clear Fork on Tuesday, then added 13 points and 14 rebounds in a 40-36 Ohio Cardinal Conference home win over West Holmes on Thursday.
Lexington (7-7, 6-2) has won two straight and is tied with West Holmes atop the OCC standings with six conference games to play, much to first-year coach Jessica Brokaw’s delight.
“We plateaued a little bit since the (holiday) break. We had a 12-day layoff and since then we haven’t been able to get that full rhythm back,” Brokaw said after the win over Clear Fork. “Hopefully we can get it back on track.”
With Coleman, a 6-foot-1 junior forward, and 5-10 senior point guard Gabby Stover leading the charge, Lady Lex appears to be pointed in the right direction. In addition to her offensive contributions — Coleman averages a double-double — she’s good for nearly two blocked shots a game.
Her block of Morgan Galco’s layup attempt in the final seconds preserved the 43-42 double-overtime victory at Clear Fork last week. Galco caught a pass over the top of the Lady Lex defense, but Coleman got a fingertip on the shot, just enough to cause the shot to come up short.
“We got what we wanted. We got the ball into the hands of someone we wanted,” Clear Fork coach Randy Pore said. “Coleman made a great play to alter the shot.”
Brokaw agreed.
“If I were to pick any player to be guarding the rim in a two-on-one situation it would be Coleman because of her length,” Brokaw said. “She got her fingertip on that ball and made it a little short.”
It was Coleman who gave Lady Lex a 43-42 lead moments earlier. She grabbed an offensive rebound on an errant free throw attempt and was fouled on the outback, splitting the free throws.
“When we’ve needed a big rebound throughout the season, she has come up with them,” Brokaw said. “She split the free throws there to give us the lead and we held on.”
After traveling to Willard on Monday, Lexington will resume its hunt for the OCC title at Ashland on Thursday. Lady Lex visits Madison on Saturday.
“We are where we expected to be in the conference,” Brokaw said last week. “Our goal is to finish the regular season strong and get ready for the postseason.”
