Lexington Christmas Classic: Good as Gold

There is approximately a week to go before Christmas and the academic calendar for many a South Carolina high school student says that it is Holiday break. For those same students who also excel in basketball, it is time to get into midseason form.    The second-annual Lexington Christmas Classic served as an opportunity for many a team from across the Palmetto State to showcase said midseason form. A grand total of 24 teams from different portions of the state all converged on Lexington HS – home to one of the state's 5A girls hoops powers – for what was an exciting day of basketball.    We at Prep Girls Hoops also made the trek out to the home of the Wildcats for the festivities. Here is a look at the Gold Bracket matchups we were privileged to take in.    Spring Valley vs. North Augusta   The first Gold Bracket contest of the day – and the third overall on the schedule - featured one of the state's most noteworthy 5A squads and one of the state's most noteworthy 4A squads as coach Megan Assey's Spring Valley Vikings took on coach Al Young's North Augusta Yellow Jackets.    It also, somewhat fittingly, featured a pair of teams with different shades of gold in their school colors, but when all was said and done, the gold of the Yellow Jackets shined a bit brighter on Saturday afternoon than the gold of the Vikings as North Augusta pulled off a 57-39 victory over their Midlands-based adversaries.    Records   The Vikings and Yellowjackets entered Saturday's contest with records one would expect from the two girls' hoops powers. 5A Spring Valley began the day with a 7-3 mark with its only blemishes coming twice to 4A Westwood and once to Lexington. North Augusta began play at 8-1.   Remember What Happened Last Time?    Spring Valley and North Augusta met up once last season – also in a midseason tournament at a neutral site. The Yellow Jackets got the better of the Vikings last Dec. 21 with the result being 47-38.    How Things Progressed   The opening minutes of the tilt went to Spring Valley as they scored the first four points of the game. The Yellow Jackets slowly, but surely, began to turn the tide as the quarter went on and managed to pull even to the Vikings as it was a 10-10 stalemate with one quarter in the books.    North Augusta played Saturday afternoon's matchup without its star senior big in [player_tooltip player_id='172178' first='Peris' last='Smith'] due to injury. The rest of the team displayed that it took a “next woman up” approach and it continued into the second quarter as the Yellow Jackets' defense kept Spring Valley off the scoreboard – and turned its own defense into offense. At the midpoint of the contest, North Augusta led by 10 (24-14) over the Vikings.    The Yellow Jackets in the third quarter continued to expand its lead as they kept Spring Valley off of the scoreboard for much of the frame. By virtue of outscoring the Vikings 15-6 in stanza No. 3, North Augusta pushed its advantage to 19 and the lead to 39-20 with eight minutes left to play.   Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/IMG_3755-crop-2704x1776-1671355244.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-568642" width="474" height="311" /></figure>   Leading the charge for the Yellow Jackets was senior [player_tooltip player_id='558750' first='Jadah' last='O'Bryant']. The veteran star guard finished with 15 points and was recognized as the matchup's player of the game.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/IMG_3756-crop-3780x2482-1671355363.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-568644" width="472" height="309" /></figure>   Complimenting the performance of a veteran was a youngster for North Augusta. [player_tooltip player_id='444371' first='Ashley' last='Walker'], a 2027 forward for the team concluded the game with 13 points.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/IMG_3674-crop-3226x2118-1671355890.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-568649" width="475" height="310" /></figure>   On the Spring Valley end of the ledger, [player_tooltip player_id='185433' first='Jaidah' last='Liebert'] led all of its point-getters with nine points.    Up Next…   The Yellow Jackets will await a winner's bracket contest with Northwood Academy on Monday while Spring Valley will look forward to a consolation bracket matchup with Dutch Fork.    Northwood Academy vs. Dutch Fork   The second Gold Bracket matchup of the day could have been colored green as it featured two assemblings with different shades of green in their school insignias.    SCISA 4A Northwood Academy made the long trek from the Lowcountry up to the Midlands as they took on a team from right up the road in Lexington in 5A Dutch Fork.    When all was said and done, the Gold Bracket for the 2022 rendition of the Lexington Christmas Classic was nearly complete in terms of Saturday's matchups. Also, when all was said and done, the Chargers managed to dispatch of the Silver Foxes with the final score being 46-37.    Records   Entering Satuday's play, the Chargers and Silver Foxes had began Saturday's matchup with similar records. Northwood Academy had a 4-4 record to start the day that included close wins over Ridge View, Greer and Philip Simmons. The Silver Foxes had a 5-4 mark as play began with their 2022-23 resume including a win over Denmark-Olar, last season's 1A runners-up.    How Things Progressed   One of the most common phrases in the sporting lexicon is “a tale of two halves.” The first quarter between Northwood Academy and Dutch Fork could be described as a tale of two halves of a quarter. The Silver Foxes jumped out to a 12-3 lead only to see the Chargers embark on a 7-0 scoring binge that trimmed its deficit to two. Dutch Fork's head with one complete was 14-12.   The second quarter of Chargers-Silver Foxes appeared to resemble the second quarter of the earlier Spring Valley-North Augusta get-together. Northwood Academy managed to keep Dutch Fork off the scoreboard with a stifling defensive effort. The Silver Foxes still managed to keep its deficit at single digits when the second quarter was complete as it was 29-22 in favor of the Chargers at the half.    Northwood Academy pushed its lead to 11 at 42-31 with three frames complete.   Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/IMG_3825-crop-2721x1787-1671356291.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-568651" width="470" height="307" /></figure>   With 17 points, 2027 rising star [player_tooltip player_id='324560' first='Maliyah' last='Birch'] led the effort for Northwood Academy and earned Player of the Game honors. One of her highlight plays throughout the game was when she picked up a steal and a transition buzzer-beating layup at the end of the third quarter.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/IMG_3762-crop-2835x1862-1671356449.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-568654" width="462" height="302" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='261916' first='Ryian' last='Howard'], a senior, brings a veteran presence to the SCISA 4A Chargers – and she delivered 16 points in a winning Northwood Academy effort. Among Howard's strong suits include the ability to convert on high-percentage shots as a 5-foot-10 forward and drawing contact to get to the free throw line.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/IMG_3789-crop-3047x2001-1671356711.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-568657" width="464" height="304" /></figure>   Another strong performance was in the offering courtesy of Dutch Fork's veteran forward [player_tooltip player_id='231024' first='Hillary' last='Offing']. She concluded Saturday afternoon's game with 13 points.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/IMG_3773-crop-2582x1696-1671356873.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-568661" width="465" height="304" /></figure>   One of the Silver Foxes' youngsters also came up with a big game as [player_tooltip player_id='562067' first='Aaliyah' last='Lee'], a 2026 tallied 11 points to aid Dutch Fork's cause.    Unavailable   Chargers standout junior [player_tooltip player_id='258138' first='Ashton' last='Wyndham'] was not available and was not with the team.    Up Next…   The results of the first two Gold Bracket games sets up a battle of the “norths” in the second round of the tournament. North Augusta will match up against Northwood Academy on the winner's side of the bracket while Dutch Fork will look forward to a matchup with Spring Valley. Both games will occur on Monday.   Dorman vs. Lexington   Following the third Gold Bracket matchup of the day between Byrnes and Wade Hampton, the main event for the first day of the tournament featured a pair of 5A powers in the host Wildcats and the Cavaliers from Dorman.    One had to expect that this would certainly be an entertaining matchup between Dorman and Lexington, particularly considering the fact that both teams boast healthy mixes of young and veteran talent. When this one was in the books, the Cavaliers earned a victory over the host school by a final score of 35-31.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/IMG_3908-crop-2550x1674-1671357151.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-568668" width="458" height="300" /></figure>   The win earned Dorman a date with Wade Hampton on Monday in the winner's bracket. The 4A Generals defeated the 5A Byrnes Rebels by a final of 57-44 behind 19 points via [player_tooltip player_id='280575' first='Quinasia' last='Abercrombie']. The Wildcats would play Byrnes that same day in the consolation bracket.    Records   The Wildcats and Cavaliers were tabbed at the beginning of the season as two of the teams to beat in 5A play this season. Lexington has started the 2022-23 campaign with an 8-3 mark. Dorman, in the first season of the Ashlen Dewart-Dorn era, has began the season 5-4 and has included tough games against 4A and 5A foes.    What Happened Last Time?    Dorman and Lexington last matched up against each other a few years ago during the 2018-19 season. The Wildcats got the better of the Cavaliers by a tally of 68-60.    How Things Progressed…   A contest of two of the state's premier 5A powerhouses looked like a contest of two of the state's premier 5A powerhouses in the first quarter as both the Cavaliers and Wildcats traded the first four points. Eventually, the first quarter concluded with Lexington leading 12-8.    Both teams traded runs in the second quarter. Coach Molly Goodrich's Wildcats tallied the first seven points of the frame only for the Cavaliers to respond with six unanswered points to create a 19-13 halftime score.    Dorman's come-from-behind effort was full speed ahead in the third quarter as the Cavaliers outscored Lexington 11-4 in the third stanza. It was 24-23 Dorman in what turned out to be one of the more entertaining contests of the day.    In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats hoped to mount a late comeback of their own as they were looking to erase its deficit. But clutch offensive rebounding for Dorman late in the fourth proved to be the difference that clinched a spot in the win column for the Cavaliers.    Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/IMG_4015-crop-3047x2001-1671357488.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-568670" width="480" height="314" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='403919' first='Dasia' last='Ferguson'] proved exactly why she was a Prep Girls Hoops Preseason Player of the Year. The veteran star for Dorman finished with 20 points and took home Player of the Game honors. Not only did she make clutch baskets on offense, she also came through with clutch steals on the defensive end of the floor.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/IMG_4012-crop-2141x1406-1671357650.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-568673" width="484" height="317" /></figure>   For the Wildcats, [player_tooltip player_id='171784' first='Jenna' last='Yanity'] led her team with 14 points – and spearheaded Lexington's fourth quarter comeback efforts with five of hers late in the closing minutes.   Unavailable   Veteran Lexington star center [player_tooltip player_id='171785' first='Lindsay' last='Garner'] was not available with the Wildcats and was not with the team.

There is approximately a week to go before Christmas and the academic calendar for many a South Carolina high school student says that it is Holiday break. For those same students who also excel in basketball, it is time to get into midseason form.