Lady ‘Dawgs crack rankings

The Lexington girls are now ranked in the state by OSSAA following a hearty showing in the Lindsay Tournament last weekend.

The Lady ‘Dawgs are now ranked No. 12 in Class 3A with a record of 8-1. They accrued that with some very important wins since the first of the year.

After the Christmas Break, the ‘Dawgs beat the Marlow Lady Outlaws, 61-38. Marlow was ranked No. 16 in Class 3A at the time.

The Lady ‘Dawgs used a strong third quarter to pull away, outscoring Marlow, 22-7. 

Amanda Graddy led the ‘Dawgs with 20 points, followed by 15 points by Emilee Jenks and 13 by Lauren Beason.

Then, it was on to the Lindsay Tournament. Lexington defeated Lindsay, 61-22, on Jan. 9.  

The ‘Dawgs got another 28 points from Graddy plus 21 from Beason down low. The contest was really never in question.

But, the next one was a tough one as Comanche (No. 8 in Class 3A this week by the OSSAA) handed the Lady ‘Dawgs their first loss of the season by a close score of 57-53. 

Rylee Beason stood up and responded with 17 points against Comanche.

Jenks had 12 points, Graddy and Jaci Idlett had nine. 

Comanche was finally able to pull away with a 20-point fourth quarter.

The Lady ‘Dawgs salvaged their tournament last Saturday with a 68-60 win over the Lindsay Leopards. 

Both Graddy and Lauren Beason scored 25 points to lead Lexington to the victory.

“We are scoring the ball very well,” said Lexington head coach Derek Clark. “If we get better in the half court defensively, we will be right where we want to be.”

Boys

The Lexington boys are now 2-7. They are playing hard and with heart but head coach J.D. Beck is still trying to find what can make the ‘Dawgs click on all cylinders.

“We have been getting better each game,” Beck said. “We have come up short in many of our games this year. We are just trying to continually tell our players to work hard, practice harder, and we will get over this hump. Don’t give up!”

The ‘Dawgs lost to the Marlow Outlaws on Jan. 7 on the road by a close score of 41-35. Marlow outscored Lexington in the middle of the game and was able to pull away.

It was not a lost cause for Lexington, though. 

Teagin Pruitt led the way offensively with 11 points, followed by Josiah Dawley’s 10 from the perimeter. Colton Penner provided five points down low in the middle.

Last week, Lexington competed at the Lindsay Tournament. The ‘Dawgs lost the first game, 57-42, to Pauls Valley as the Panthers led in every quarter of the game. Jaylen Cottrell had 14 points, Jeremiah Muniz had nine and Dawley had six.

Lexington won their second game, 60-45, over the Davis Wolves. Pruitt exploded with 24 points and Cottrell added another 18.

In their final game of the tournament, the ‘Dawgs lost a heartbreaker to the host Leopards, 45-38, in overtime. 

Lindsay outscored Lex, 10-3, in the extra session. 

Pruitt had nine points to pace Lexington while Josiah Dawley had eight, Cottrell had seven and both Muniz and Penner added five points each.

Lexington hosted their friendly cross-bridge neighbors from Purcell on Tuesday night. The next game will be at Bridge Creek on Friday.