The host Warriors, coming off a one-point loss at Springboro on Saturday, got 20 rebounds from senior forward Rachel Perry and smothered previously unbeaten Edgewood with their defense in a 42-23 victory.
“We just played straight man and tried to pressure them into not liking us very well,” Lebanon coach Rob Hodges said. “They didn’t like it, and then when you have somebody cleaning the boards like Rachel at the end, it’s pretty much a one-and-done situation.
“We got a lot of one-and-dones in the first half. That really allowed us to run a little bit and get some open looks in the transition game.”
The Warriors (6-1) never trailed and held Edgewood (7-1) scoreless for a stretch that covered more than six minutes in the first half.
Alexis Straw tallied 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals for Lebanon. Perry scored nine points and Alex Warning had seven.
“I feel like everyone was pretty prepared for this one since we were mad from losing,” Perry said. “Losing to Springboro was really upsetting, but we came in here ready to go. We were pretty on our game. Edgewood was undefeated, so it’s kind of like we had a chip on our shoulder. We wanted to beat ’em really bad to boost our confidence going into the Miamisburg game (at home) on Wednesday.”
The 5-foot-11 Perry was the tallest player on the floor most of the night, but she also displayed a bit of a mean streak on the boards.
“You’ve got to be like that,” Perry said with a smile. “You have to have the drive to go in there against everyone. You have to box out obviously, and if you’re on the outside, you just plow in there and push everybody out. I like doing that. I wear the knee pads, so I’m like, ‘It’s OK if I fall.’ I just like to hustle and be aggressive.”
“That’s just flat heart and going after the ball,” Hodges said. “A lot of kids go after the ball hard. She’s just athletic and long enough to be able to get every single one of those rebounds. It’s fun to watch her play. It’s fun to watch how she’s grown up from a freshman that was on a pretty successful team to a senior that continues to grow and mature.”
The Cougars shot 17.8 percent from the floor and didn’t reach double digits until the 3:19 mark in the third quarter.
Lexie Sparks and Zoe Stephen scored six points apiece for Edgewood, which hosts Monroe on Thursday. Stephen, a freshman, added a team-high five rebounds.
“We did not shoot well. We need to rebound better,” Cougars coach Greg Brown said. “We played hard, but not smart at times. We are on to Monroe.”
Edgewood, the Southwest Ohio Conference’s top defensive team, did a credible job on ‘D’ and limited the Warriors to 29.4-percent shooting.
But the Cougars were never really in the game, trailing 18-5 at intermission.
“It was a good start for us,” Hodges said. “How to start games is a hard thing to practice, but that’s been a focus of ours for a while.
“I think it was a good thing to get back on the floor tonight. We lost to a good team Saturday, but I think we really beat ourselves. We approached this game as a tough task. We didn’t reduce our opponent at all because they came in with a 7-0 record. They had found ways to win every game up to this point.”
Perry said Lebanon is already eyeing its rematch with Springboro in the regular-season finale for both teams.
“Feb. 11 … that’s when we play them next, and we’re going to beat them at home,” Perry said. “I’m really excited for that.”
“I’d love to be 7-0 at this point, but we’re a one-point loss away from being 7-0, so we’ll take 6-1 and move on,” Hodges said. “I’ve liked this team from Day 1, really from before Day 1. I really like the potential that we can play with. It’s a different kind of team than I’ve had in nine years at Lebanon because we have different dynamics. We can be successful playing a lot of different styles. The girls are playing together and practicing hard every day. It’s fun.”
Edgewood 3-2-11-7—23
Lebanon 13-5-18-6—42
EDGEWOOD (7-1): Jessa Brown 1 1 3, Tori Childers 0 1 1, Lauren Gerber 2 0 4, Cierra Lipps 1 0 2, Lexie Sparks 2 2 6, Zoe Stephen 2 2 6, Katie Curry 0 1 1. Totals: 8-7-23
LEBANON (6-1): Alexis Straw 6 4 17, Rachel Perry 3 3 9, Sydney Hanna 2 0 4, Maddie Esposito 1 0 3, Alex Warning 2 2 7, Taylor Hebert 1 0 2. Totals: 15-9-42
3-pointers: L 3 (Straw, Esposito, Warning)
About the Author