The Lexington Minutewomen Girls Basketball Team played hard, and they played strong defense, but Richmond guard Ella Steele hat a jump shot with about 25 seconds left to spoil the evening, as the Lady Spartans pulled out a 39 to 37 win over the Lexington Girls in front of a large crowd from both towns on Courtwarming night last Friday in Richmond.

This game was very close throughout, as neither team was able to build much of a lead. Zoey Earnest pretty well carried Lexington early on offensively scoring 8 first quarter points, while Kinsley Worthington added a basket, but Richmond led 1110 at the end of the period.

The Minutewomen really tightened the screws on defense early in the second quarter, as they did not allow a Richmond Field goal until fairly late in the stanza. Lexington led by as many as 6 points midway through the period as Kai Sheperd nailed a triple and two free throws, Elie Lichte drained three free throws and Worthington had another bucket, but Richmond got hot during the last part of the quarter, and they cut the Lexington lead to only one point, at 20-19 by the time that halftime arrived.

LaNiya Davis really started to attack the basket for Lexington in the third period, as she scored 9 points on three baskets and 3 of 3 free throws, while Earnest canned two free throws, and the Minutewomen led 31-28 after three.

It was the Richmond’s turn to play strong defense in the fourth quarter, as they held the Minutewomen to only one field goal and two free throws by Davis and two free throws by Earnest for the period. However, the lead did see saw back and forth during the quarter, as the Lexington Girls put out a great effort, hung tough, and had their opportunities, but the Lady Spartans got the game winner from Steele, and prevailed 39 to 37.

Davis led Lexington in scoring with 13 points, all in the second half, while Ernest had 12 points, with 8 of hers in the first half. Genevieve Didier was the only Richmond player in double figures with 10 points.

With the win, the Richmond Girls improve to 1110 for the season, while the Minutewomen stand at 12-10, as of the time of this article.

The Lexington Girls and Boys will wind up regular season play tomorrow night (Thursday) at home against Knob Noster, as it will be Senior Night for both teams.

Lexington Box Score: Kai Sheperd 1 2-2 5; Zoey Earnest 4 4-6 12; Ellie Lichte 0 3-6 3; LaNiya Davis 4 5-6 13; Audrie Bollmeyer 0 0-0 0; Kinsley Worthington 2 0-0 4; Brooke Dye 0 0-0 0; Grace Dobson 0 0-0. Three Point Field Goals: Sheperd 1.