Jameka Henderson (2) lifts one into the basket for the Lady Griffins at Lexington Monday night. (Photo/DeAnna Robinson)
LEXINGTON (Dec. 21, 2015) – The Lady Griffins overcame a 15-point deficit to take Lexington into overtime Monday night, but Destinee Langford’s solid free-throw shooting for the Lady Wildcats held off Fairfield Central down the home stretch.
With the game tied at 45 at the end of regulation, Langford went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line and sank a basket to push Lexington past Fairfield Central 54-49 at the Lexington High gym.
“The girls showed tremendous heart and effort. They gave it everything they had,” Lady Griffins head coach Amelia Miller said. “We picked the tempo up, and when we did, all the girls on the floor bought into what the coaches were telling them. It almost ended up in our favor.”
Jameka Henderson scored 14 points to lead Fairfield Central (5-3). Tamesha Woodard had 13.
Langford scored a game-high 24 points and was 12-for-16 in foul shots on the night. She and center Taylor Foulks, who had 16 points and 19 rebounds, frustrated the Lady Griffins early on.
The Lady Wildcats (7-5) slowed down Fairfield Central’s fast attack in the first two quarters, holding the Lady Griffins to just 13 points at halftime. Ahead 20-13 going into the third, Lexington went on a 10-2 run to open up a 30-15 lead midway through the third quarter.
Just as the Lady Wildcats seemed to breeze through the evening, the Lady Griffins woke up. Sparked by a Tamesha Woodard basket, Fairfield Central closed out the quarter on a 13-6 run.
Still down 36-28 to start the fourth, the Lady Griffins inched closer to Lexington over the next seven minutes.
Henderson evened the game up when she drew a foul on her short-range hook shot that fell cleanly with 46 seconds to go. After a Lady Griffins’ timeout, Henderson took to the free-throw line and evened the game.
In overtime, however, Langford clinched the win for Lexington, as Fairfield Central could only score on two foul shots apiece from Henderson and Cristin Gray.
“We’re learning to get better, game by game,” Miller said. “This is going to help us for our region. I told them not to hold their heads down. They showed me that we have heart and we’re going to give all we have.”
Fairfield Central’s boys’ and girls’ teams will both play in the Orangeburg County Sweet 16 Invitational at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School this weekend.
LHS: 54, FCHS: 49
FC: 8-5-15-17-4 – 49
L: 11-9-16-9-9 – 54
F – Jameka Henderson 14, Tamesha Woodard 13, Cloud 6, Davis 6, Gray 6, Moore 4. L –Destinee Langford 24, Taylor Foulks 16, Thompson 8, Lesesne 4, A. Langford 2. REC: Fairfield Central 5-3, Lexington 7-4.