A 22-6 run to close out the game gave the Arrows another 20-point win in Ohio Cardinal Conference play, their ninth in 10 games.
LEXINGTON - Ashland coach Renee Holt wasn't thrilled with her team's first half performance on the road against rival Lexington.
"It was an ugly first half, that just wasn't Ashland basketball," she said. "And I told them coming out that we needed to step up defensively. I know they had a different zone thrown at us ... I like how we came out that third quarter and put them away."
The Arrows looked much more like the now 14-1 program they are blanking Lady Lex in the third quarter en route to a 49-22 win to remain undefeated in Ohio Cardinal Conference play. Ashland actually held Lexington scoreless from the 1:14 mark of the second quarter to nearly the midway point of the fourth quarter and turned a nine-point lead into 29 over that stretch.
"Just our defense, and that starts with a mindset," Holt said. "We decided to have (Tatum) Stover get rid of the ball and pressure everyone else, and I think we jumped our passes great."
She may be underselling it by using the word great as the Arrows recorded 25 steals as a team led by Camryn Cox's 10 as part of an 11-point and 11-rebound triple-double.
"Just being up in the passing lanes and ready to jump the ball was huge," Cox said. "We just always want to make a statement every game this year that we play, you gotta go show them who we are."
It's the second consecutive standout performance for Cox when the team has needed her most.
"One of my starters (Madison Hoffman) went down with an ACL, so I need others to step up," Holt said. "And I think Cam has really stepped into that role, she just came off a 26-point game in a win over Wooster. It's cool to see her step up in that senior role."
She proved to be the perfect complement to junior Kennedy Lacey who led all with 24 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and seven steals. Senior Grace Tobias added six points, three rebounds, two steals; junior Cienna Steury five points and four steals; junior Josie Vantilburg three points, three assists.
"We knew that we couldn't take both (Cox and Lacey) away ... and they have a great team with a lot of shooters," Lexington coach Abbegael David said. "Biggest thing is we knew Lacey could drive and we know that she can penetrate in the in the paint, then you have a big post down low, too. Our biggest goal, especially with going zone, was just to keep things out of the paint or at least keep bodies around to try and double team everything."
And that zone worked in the first half as Lady Lex stayed within reach trailing by 11 at the intermission.
"I think with the zone we did a good job of contesting all their shots and made them shoot outside," David said. "That was our goal, we wanted to keep the ball out of the paint. The first half we did a good job of doing that, but on the flip side we just couldn't score."
Scoring just six points in the second half, all in the final four minutes of game time, things got even worse for Lexington when senior Lauren Risser landed awkwardly after a contested layup and needed helped off the court. There were just seven girls dressed for the game against Ashland.
"We've been battling a lot of injuries this season, so hopefully we can just get them all healthy for the tournament," David said.
Senior Tatum Stover led with 14 points and 13 rebounds, junior Carliann Hughes added three points and four rebounds, sophomores Gracee Reis and Brynley Liersemann two points apiece, Risser ended with one and four rebounds.
Ashland can all but clinch a second consecutive OCC title Saturday afternoon with a win against New Philly, the only conference opponent to get within 20 points of the Arrows this season. It would give them a two-game lead with three games to close out against opponents Ashland previously beat by a combined 75 points.
"That Ashland versus Lexington rivalry is a big one, so it's nice to put them away early," Holt said. "But we have bigger goals in mind. We have that OCC crown we're looking at with a big game this Saturday."
"I can never repay those people for the roles they played in ours and our kid's lives."
[email protected] | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ashland girls remain undefeated in OCC play after big win at Lexington
Category: General Sports
