By Thomas Grant Jr.
The yearlong celebration of athletics at Lexington High School opened on an historic note Monday night.
Girls basketball coach Molly Goodrich became the program’s career leader in victories. The 64-23 win over Catawba Ridge, she surpassed David Long with 157 victories in her 10th season with the Lady Wildcats.
“It was a good accomplishment,” Goodrich said. “I can’t really take the credit for It because it’s all the good things I’ve had and all the good players I’ve had. But I loved their energy tonight and how they just played very aggressive and pushed the ball hard. It was a good win to get (to become) the winningest coach here.”
“Molly’s done a great job,” said Long, who coached from 2002-12 and was in attendance with former Lexington boys’ basketball coach Bailey Harris. “Her program is incredible.”
The Lady Wildcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Syndi Anderson and Cassidy Harry led Lexington with 10 points each and senior Izzy Saville added nine points.
The Lady Wildcats’ defense held the Lady Copperheads under double digits in three of the four quarters. With Goodrich emptying the bench in the second half, Lexington outscored Catawba Ridge 29-7 to give her the career milestone.
Lexington (8-2) now enters Region 4-5A play starting Friday at home against Irmo riding a 3-game winning streak.
“I think it’s going to be very competitive,” Goodrich said. “I think it’s going to be fun and I believe any team can win any given night. And so, that makes us work harder and makes us lock in even more and we’re excited to get started.”
On the boys side, the Lexington boys fell 60-49 to Catawba Ridge. It was the first game without preseason Top Senior Class 5A guard Kaleb Evans, who has left the team and school.
The Copperheads led as many as 22 points as Isaiah Thomas had a game-high 24 points. Lexington put together a strong fourth quarter, outscoring Catawba Ridge 20-13.
Kyle Hazewinkel led Lexington with 16 points and Seth Adams added 12 points. Despite the loss, Lexington head coach Elliott Page was encouraged by the overall team effort and saw areas of improvement.
“I think it gave us an idea of what we can do,” he said. “We didn’t get a lot of transition points. We were missing out a little bit tonight. But I thought it gave us at times where we could execute some things offensively and get good shots. We’ve just got to make them.
“We probably had 4-5 shots rattle out, but Catawba Ridge is a well-coached team. We’ve just got to continue to working at it and get some experience under these guys’ belts.
LEXINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
ATHLETIC CELEBRATION
Friday’s Events – At Lexington High School Gym
- 5:30 p.m. – Hall of Fame Mingle – Heavy Appetizers throughout the games.
- 6 p.m. – Girls and Boys Basketball Game vs. Irmo, honoring previous athletes
Saturday’s Events – At The Grove on Augusta Highway
- 5 p.m. – Gates Open
- 5:30 – 7 p.m. Dinner and Presentation
- 7 p.m. – Special Guests Tokyo Joe Goes on Stage
- 5:00 – 8:45 p.m. – Silent Auction
There are two different packages for purchase.
Gold – $100
- Entry into both Friday and Saturday Night Festivities
- Hudson’s BBQ, Clutch Coffee and Endless Drinks
- VIP Line for Drink Orders
- Commemorative Item
Blue – $75
- Entry into Saturday Nights Festivities
- Hudson’s BBQ, Clutch Coffee and Endless Drinks
RIVER BLUFF
Fresh off becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer, Yasir Cromer added to his total Monday against top-ranked Class A Denmark-Olar.
Cromer scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Gators to a 62-47 win. It was the fifth straight win for River Bluff (10-5), who also got 14 points from Blake Martin and 10 points from Mason Young.
In girls’ action, the Lady Gators fell 52-35 to the ranked Lady Vikings.
River Bluff will open Region 4-5A play at home against White Knoll.
Photos and Video by Thomas Grant, Jr.
