Switch flipped: Lexington Lady Lex enjoying Cinderella tournament run, ready for districts

LEXINGTON — The switch has been flipped.

The Lexington Lady Lex basketball team went into the postseason tournament as the No. 9 seed and a likely candidate for a one-and-done run. Instead, they are alive and well winning their first sectional championship since 2010-11 and playing in a district semifinal game on Thursday at Old Fort High School against Bellevue. A win sends them to their first district championship game appearance since 2008.

"It was exciting," Lexington coach Gabby Stover said. "We knew it was going to be a battle, and with the higher seed hosting, you know every odd is against you. We went in, competed and won. That is the most exciting thing about basketball."

TOLD YOU SO: 'We are coming': Lady Lex showing growth, prove future is bright in girls basketball

Lexington earned postseason wins over No. 7 seed Perkins and No. 4 seed Norwalk in back-to-back road games to punch its district tournament ticket. Those wins gave Lexington (13-11) its sixth win in its last seven games.

"I watched the film when we played at Norwalk and the way we moved the ball and knew exactly where each other was going to be now is night and day from the beginning of the season," Gabby Stover said. "It is a maturity thing and a confidence thing."

Lady Lex has a young team with three seniors, two juniors and six sophomores. Lex starts three sophomores, a junior and one senior so it was understood that the 2023-24 season was going to experience some growing pains. Mix in a first-year varsity coach in 2020 grad Gabby Stover, and patience was going to have to be a virtue.

Lexington started the year 0-4 before earning its first win over Mount Vernon. Then came a rough 70-33 loss to Mansfield Senior to make them 1-5 a quarter of the way through the season. At the midway point, Lex was 5-6 thanks to four wins in five games and since then, they have been playing some great basketball.

"The first switch was probably the Clyde game," Lexington sophomore Tatum Stover said. "That was our first big win we had where we were running the floor well, hitting big shots and everyone played their roles extremely well."

And Tatum has picked it up individually. She knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer with under 10 seconds to go in a 44-43 sectional semifinal win over Perkins and finished the game with a team-high 13 points, nearly 10 points more than her average. Against Norwalk in the sectional final, Tatum scored 12 points and added nine rebounds to lead Lex to a 59-48 victory.

"Tatum is incredibly athletic but sometimes, her mind stops her from showing just how athletic she is," Gabby Stover said. "In this last stretch of the season, she has played with a clear mind. That last shot against Perkins, she didn't think about it, caught it in rhythm and knocked down the shot like she does all the time in practice. Her confidence level is incredible now."

It sure helps to have her sister as her head coach and best friend.

"Anywhere Gabby goes, I go, too," Tatum Stover said. "She knows she can talk to me differently on the court, and I can handle a lot. She can be very blunt knowing I am not going to freak out about it. She is so good at knowing how we all handle different things and still coaches a disciplined team."

She also coaches a welcoming team. Junior point guard Makaree Chapman moved into the district from Ashland and has taken Lady Lex to a different level. She is averaging 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and four steals and constantly flirts with a triple-double.

"She has been a great fit for this team," Gabby Stover said. "Not just because of the way she plays, but the people running around her fit her perfectly. She was a missing piece to a really good group."

Chapman elevates her teammates in more ways than in just stat column.

"Last year, I wasn't confident at all and that even carried into the early part of this season," Tatum Stover said. "But bringing in Makaree helped me so much because she got me out of my shell and elevated my game."

And Chapman believes is is a two-way street.

"I came here open-minded, and I have been welcomed and accepted," Chapman said. "I truly love all of these girls, and I know they love me. We have made bonds for life well beyond basketball."

And those bonds have Lady Lex sprinting through a magical tournament run that landed the first sectional championship in 13 years. Gabby Stover, the 2019-20 Ohio Cardinal Conference Player of the Year, led Lex to its last league championship, but was bounced in the sectional round of the tournament. She is thrilled to bring one home as a coach.

"It is really exciting and means something more to me because I didn't do that as a player," Gabby Stover said. "It has been a long time and to be a part of it is fun, but I give all of the credit to these girls. They have been able to go in and put the rankings aside and just went out and competed. That's the most exciting part."

And it will be even more exciting when Lady Lex takes the court on Thursday against Bellevue as they look to continue an inspiring run that could lead to a trophy in the case.

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

X: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington Lady Lex set to take on Bellevue in Division II district tournament