TWINSBURG — The breakout game for Lexi Lance has come and gone.
Wadsworth’s Lexi Lance scores against Twinsburg during the first quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)
The 6-foot-1 center shined in the Wadsworth girls basketball team’s most physical game of the young season Saturday, posting a double-double as the Grizzlies manhandled Twinsburg 59-29 in Suburban League National Division action.
Only a sophomore, Lance finished with a career-high 16 points and 11 rebounds and drew multiple roars from the pro-Wadsworth crowd as the Grizzlies (6-0, 4-0) controlled the defending Euclid Division I District champion Tigers (3-2, 2-2) from the opening tip.
“For a 6-1 kid, she was the first to a lot of things — rebounds, loose balls, getting out on fast breaks,” coach Andrew Booth said. “It doesn’t surprise us because we’ve seen her do it in practice, but that’s the first time she’s been able to do that in a game. When she’s as active as she was tonight, that really makes us tough to beat.”
Lance already is quite touted despite being in her first season as starter — she is a three-star recruit by ESPN.com — but generally plays a supporting role to first-team All-Ohioan Jodi Johnson, a top-100 shooting guard headed to Ashland, and classmate Sophia Fortner (17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals), another ESPN three-star recruit.
That wasn’t the case in northern Summit County, as Lance consistently finished at the rim, grabbed rebounds, blocked a pair of shots and made 6-of-8 free throws.
She had eight points and three boards as the Grizzlies took a 31-9 lead at halftime.
The play of the game came shortly after Wadsworth re-entered the gymnasium.
Twinsburg attempted to attack the rim, but Lance stuffed the shot attempt, grabbed the loose ball and sprinted to the other end. She then roared through the air and kissed the ball high off glass while being defended tightly, getting a big reaction from everyone in attendance.
Lance had another highlight-reel moment in the fourth, using a left-to-right crossover above the 3-point arc to leave a defender in the dust en route to a wide-open layup.
“We just played really hard, and we didn’t worry about the score,” Lance said. “We just kept going.”
Lance was a fraction of another impressive game by Wadsworth, which has defeated reigning district champions Eastmoor Academy, Morgan County (Ga.), North Royalton and Twinsburg by an average of 25.8 points.
The Tigers, piloted by former Cloverleaf coach Julie Solis, tried to control pace with half-court offense but couldn’t get any offense going as the Grizzlies’ alternating presses forced eight first-quarter turnovers. Twinsburg leading scorer and 6-0 center Jasmine Bishop (8 points, 7 rebounds) was most affected, as her touches were limited because of the sometimes ragged pace.
While Lance had six points and Fortner added five in what ended up an 18-6 first quarter, Jenna Johnson was Wadsworth’s most important player early with three points and five rebounds (4 offensive) during a 7-0 start. Laurel Palitto then got into the act with a transition 3-pointer early in the second quarter.
The Grizzlies, who made 25-of-32 free throws, eventually led 41-9 early in the third, when Jodi Johnson scored seven of her 11 points.
“We all kind of were on the same page, and we all were passing the ball around, giving opportunities to everyone,” Jenna Johnson said. “We got them out of their system and had our players push the ball up the floor.”
Note
Maria Busson had 11 points as Wadsworth’s junior varsity won 53-28.
Wadsworth 59, Twinsburg 29
WADSWORTH 18 13 12 16 — 59
TWINSBURG 6 3 8 12 — 29
Wadsworth — Jenna Johnson 0-4-4, Laurel Palitto 2-0-5, Lexi Lance 5-6-16, Jodi Johnson 5-1-11, Sophia Fortner 4-8-17, Peyton Banks 0-3-3, McKenna Banks 0-1-1, Olivia Chaney 0-0-0, Maddie Movsesian 0-0-0, Alexa Conley 0-0-0, Maggie Sonntag 0-0-0, Meggie Flanigan 0-0-0, Molly Palecek 0-2-2, Maria Busson 0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-25-59.
Twinsburg — Nya Bussey 0-0-0, Dasja Anderson 4-1-11, Jasmine Bishop 3-2-8, Tori Thomas 0-0-0, Jailyn Reid 2-2-6, Mya Gardenhire 0-0-0, Dahrienne Tyler 0-0-0, Rocki Jones 1-0-2, Trinity Carthen 0-2-2, Brittany Jolly 0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-7-29.
3-point goals — Palitto, Fortner, Anderson 2. Rebounds — Wadsworth 33 (Lance 11), Twinsburg 24 (Bishop 7). Assists — Wadsworth 6 (Fortner 3), Twinsburg 4 (Tyler 2). Records — Wadsworth (6-0, 4-0), Twinsburg (3-2, 2-2). Junior varsity — Wadsworth 53, Twinsburg 28.