Carter, Lexington girls overpower West

Tue. January 24, 2012 at 11:00 p.m. | By Mike Duprez

West Davidson girls coach David Klinkoski had a plan and the Dragons dictated the pace. But Lexington had Jasmine Carter.

Carter poured in 26 points as the Yellow Jackets outmuscled West 62-41. Alexis Fowler added 11 as Lexington improved to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in the conference.

“She makes a difference,” said Lexington coach Lamont Johnson. “A huge difference. When we get both of them playing together, we’re pretty competitive.”

West’s plan called for a 2-3 zone, slow pace and backdoor lobs to Keyua McElveen. It worked for a while. The Dragons led 10-7 after the first quarter and McElveen got open.

But Carter, who only scored two points in the first quarter, asserted herself in the second quarter, tallying 12 of Lexington’s 16 points in the period. That enabled the Jackets to lead 23-15 at halftime. The tide had turned.

With Carter again leading the way in the post and dishing out a pair of snappy passes for Charity Kelly jumpers, Lexington started the third quarter on a 10-2 run to put the game out of reach.

“She’s a difficult matchup,” Klinkoski said. “But we had a plan going in and stuck to it. We’ve just got to knock down some shots.”

They did in the fourth quarter with the teams combining for 48 points in the final eight minutes. But Lexington still got the best of it.
Callie Herman and McElveen each had 13 points for the Dragons, who fell to 4-11 overall and 0-5 in the CCC.
Both teams are back in action Friday, with Lexington at East Davidson and West hosting Salisbury.

Mike Duprez can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 218 or mike.duprez@the-dispatch.com.