Lady ‘Dawgs take first

The Lexington girls took home the championship trophy from the Grady County Tournament last Saturday night following a 48-40 victory over the Amber-Pocasset Panthers.

Lexington (ranked No. 14 in Class 3A by the OSSAA) upped its season record to an impressive 13-2. Am-Po was ranked No. 8 in Class 2A with a sparkling 17-3 mark.

The victory and the hardware for the Lady ‘Dawgs earned them more respect in the basketball community and should bode well for them the rest of the season.

After beating Verden, 78-23, in the first contest of the tournament, Lexington returned home for a regular-season matchup with Pauls Valley last Tuesday. Lex beat the Panthers, 58-33, for the third time this season. 

The Lady ‘Dawgs also beat Pauls Valley, 69-53, last Dec. 3 and 68-60, on Jan. 11 at the Lindsay Tournament.

Against Pauls Valley last Tuesday, Lauren Beason led the way with 20 points. She was followed by Amanda Graddy (15 points) and Emilee Jenks (11 points). The Lady ‘Dawgs used a powerful 22-point outburst in the fourth quarter to put away the Panthers.

Last Thursday, Lexington downed Class A Alex (now 11-5) by a tally of 58-38. The Lady ‘Dawgs never trailed in the game. Graddy exploded for 24 points to lead all scorers. Lauren Beason had 12 points for Lexington while Anna Sample chipped in nine.

In the tournament championship game, Lex left with first-place honors after its hard-fought victory over Am-Po. 

The Panthers held a commanding 30-18 lead at the half.

Then, Am-Po went ice cold – scoring no points in the third quarter while Lexington scored 12. In the fourth quarter, the Lady ‘Dawgs came back by outscoring the Panthers, 18-10, for the tourney title.

Once again, Graddy was a stout force as she led all scorers with 21 points. Lauren Beason added 13 points while Jenks had nine and Jaci Idlett had five. 

Lexington played at Lindsay on Tuesday evening.

Boys

The ‘Dawgs are now 3-12 on the season after a fourth-place finish at the Grady County Tournament in Alex.

Lexington is taking one step forward and two backwards these days, or so it seems.

Last Monday, the ‘Dawgs beat the Class A Alex Longhorns, 41-33, in their tourney opener. Then, they returned home Tuesday to entertain the Pauls Valley Panthers.

The Panthers (10-7) managed to pull away from Lexington, 59-51. 

The ‘Dawgs were down, 34-17, at halftime. But, they outscored Pauls Valley in the second half, 34-25, with a big comeback.

Jaylen Cottrell was the leading scorer for Lexington against the Panthers with 18 points, followed by Colton Penner, who had 11 points and Teagin Pruitt, who chipped in 10 points.

Lexington went back to the Grady County Tournament on Friday and lost to Class 2A No. 6 Minco (14-3) by a score of 62-36. 

The ‘Dawgs simply had no answer for Minco, who powered their way for 18 points in the second quarter and 21 points in the third stanza.

Kolbe King was the leading scorer for Lexington with eight points. Josiah Dawley was next with six points while both Pruitt and Coby Bear had five points each.

In the third-place game, Lexington lost to Class 2A Amber-Pocasset (14-6) by a score of 51-37.

The Am-Po Panthers jumped out to a 19-9 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.

Pruitt was Lexington’s top scorer against Am-Po with 16 points. He was followed by Dawley’s nine points and Penner’s five points. 

The ‘Dawgs played at Lindsay on Tuesday evening.