Ashland holds off Lexington in defensive battle

Lady Lex had a handful of opportunities to take the lead in the closing seconds, but misfired from short range.

That was a recurring theme, as the teams combined to connect on just 29-of-112 field goal opportunities. Ashland shot 28 percent from the field (16-for-58), misfired on all five of its 3-point field goal attempts and was 3-for-7 from the free throw line. Lady Lex shot 24 percent from the floor (13-for-54), was 3-for-13 from beyond the 3-point arc and sank 5-of-13 free throw attempts.

“Both teams struggled shooting the ball,” Ashland coach Renee Holt said. “We have been preaching defense the past two weeks and we showed glimpses of it, especially in the first quarter.”

The Arrows jumped in front 10-4 after the first quarter and led 14-4 after an Alex Hucklebery layup midway through the second. Lexington closed the half on a 6-0 run and cut Ashland’s lead to 14-10 on Cora Palmer’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds to play in the first half.

Lexington pulled even at 14-14 early in the third quarter on a pair of Kaleigh Leadbetter free throws and an offensive rebound and putback by Kaitlyn Delano-Goodman with 5:56 to play in the period. The Arrows outscored Lady Lex 9-4 the rest of the third and took a 23-18 advantage to the fourth quarter.

Ashland opened a 33-23 lead on a Chapman lay-up with 3:54 to play, but Lex refused to go quietly. A Palmer layup with 3:44 to go ignited a 9-0 run capped by freshman Tatum Stover’s offensive rebound and stickback to make it 33-32 with 2:40 remaining.

“Down the stretch we got tired,” Holt said. “Everybody in the gym saw it. We’ve got to take better care of the ball. We probably had more than 20 turnovers (26) and they probably scored half their points (16) off our turnovers.”

Chapman’s layup with 59 seconds remaining stopped the bleeding and gave Ashland a 35-32 lead. A layup by Lexington’s Madi Basilone made it 35-34 with 33 seconds left, but Lady Lex would get no closer.

Chapman grabbed eight rebounds to go with her 10 points. Madison Hoffman scored all six of her points in the first quarter, while Huckleberry added five.

Palmer led Lexington with 11 points and six steals. Leadbetter had nine points while Stover swiped 16 rebounds to go with five steals. Delano-Goodman had five points and 12 rebounds before fouling out midway through the fourth.

Ashland completed the series sweep of Lady Lex.

“We’re a young team. I’m playing two freshman and a sophomore in crucial minutes,” Holt said. “We’re seeing progress.”

Lexington assistant Gabby Stover agreed.

“We’re seeing improvement,” Stover said. “We’re getting better.”