Lexington basketball coach Jacobi Couch likes the resolve his girls play with, even if it doesn’t always guarantee victory.

The Lady Dawgs fell behind 10-0 against Christian Heritage Academy in the semifinals of the Bobby Hicks Invitational at Little Axe High School on Saturday, but fought back to even the score.

Mistakes, however, ended up costing the Bulldogs in a 46-33 loss.

“The score doesn’t tell the whole story,” Couch told The Register. “It was a competitive game the whole time. We kind of went back and forth. We showed a little bit of grit.

“But still being young, we put ourselves in situations that we don’t need to be in. Really, turnovers and fouling and when we turn them over, not taking advantage and scoring.”

Senior guard Lexi Torres led Lexington (6-11) with 18 points, but it was the play of sophomore Dulce Rodriguez that caught the attention of her coach.

“She absolutely plays her butt off,” Couch said of the 5-foot-2 guard. “She only ended up with six points, but it doesn’t tell the story of how she guarded and hustled. She was the heart and soul of the team in that game.

Rodriguez plays much bigger than her size, Couch said.

“She’s one of those girls that doesn’t get credit for a lot of things she does on the court,” he said. “She’s 5-2 and there are some games where she has five or six rebounds. She guards the other team’s best player in every game. Never complains. She can hit some shots when needed. She’s 5-2 but she plays like she’s 6-6.”

The Lady Dawgs were scheduled to play U.S. Grant on Tuesday for third place in the Bobby Hicks Invitational. On Thursday, the girls host Davis and look to avenge an early season loss in the Wynnewood tournament.

Boys

The losses continue to mount for the boys’ team, which dropped games at Little Axe on Friday and Santa Fe South on Saturday. That game, a rescheduled tournament game, was also played at Little Axe.

Reece Beason led Lexington with 11 points against Little Axe in an 84-49 loss, while Cash Dierking scored 19 points and James McMillan added 12 in the 51-47 loss to Santa Fe South.

A third game, against Davis, scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 27, was postponed because of the weather.

Lexington has lost 15 of 17 games, including five straight. Still, but coach Derek Clark sees reason for encouragement

“I feel like we are continuing to improve even though it doesn’t show in the win column,” coach Derek Clark told The Register. “Guys are still playing hard and competing.”

The Bulldogs are scheduled to play Davis at home on Thursday.