Photos by Thomas Grant Jr.
By Thomas Grant Jr.
The Lexington High School girls and American Leadership Academy Lexington boys basketball teams are headed to the state semifinals.
Both county programs delivered decisive third-round victories Monday in the South Carolina High School League playoffs and now sit one win away from playing for state titles at Colonial Life Arena.
Lexington Rolls Past Carolina Forest
At Wildcat Gymnasium, Lexington cruised to a 69-33 victory over Carolina Forest High School in the Class 5A Division I Lower State bracket. The win sends the Lady Wildcats to their third state semifinal appearance and first since 2019.
“These girls are just hungry,” said head coach Molly Goodrich. “Their defense, their rebounding — they did everything we had them do for the gameplan and they’re just hungry to win.”
Lexington jumped out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back. Cassidy Hardy scored a game-high 19 points and outscored Carolina Forest through the first 2½ quarters. The Lady Wildcats’ defense held the Lady Panthers to just three first-half field goals, building a commanding 36-7 halftime advantage.
Kiera Bobseine added 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Seniors Jaleya Lytes and All-State center Sydni Anderson each scored seven second-half points to finish with 12 and 11, respectively. Lexington led by as many as 40 points in the fourth quarter.
The dominant performance followed last Friday’s dramatic 48-45 win over River Bluff High School. Trailing by seven in the fourth quarter, junior point guard Bradi Goodrich made four key free throws and recorded a steal down the stretch. River Bluff’s Evie Godfrey’s potential game-tying 3-pointer rimmed out in the final seconds.
Lexington will face Wando High School at 5 p.m. Saturday in Florence. The playoff series between the two schools is tied 1-1 all-time.
ALA Makes Program History
At Lakeside Middle School, American Leadership Academy continued its historic postseason run with an 80-56 win over Clinton High School in the Class 2A Lower State bracket.
The game was hosted at the Lexington School District One facility to meet SCHSL seating requirements. Having practiced there all week, the Patriots appeared comfortable from the outset, building an 18-10 first-quarter lead before erupting for 27 second-quarter points.
“You can tell from our kids shooting how comfortable they were shooting in this gym,” said head coach Tyson Bouknight.
Justin Richberg scored a game-high 25 points, including 15 in the first half. One of 13 seniors on the roster — many of whom transferred from other schools — Richberg credited Bouknight for believing in him.
“Since Christmas, they’ve come together,” Bouknight said. “It was hard to gel at first because they came from different places. But they just work hard together.”
The Patriots will face High Point Academy in the Upper State final. The site was still to be determined.
Other Playoff Scores
Boys
- Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School 70, Newberry High School 44
- Clinton 56, Saluda High School 49
Girls
- Blacksburg High School 62, Batesburg-Leesville High School 26
With momentum on their side, both Lexington and American Leadership Academy are now one victory away from competing for state championships.
