LOUDONVILLE — The scoreboard suggested otherwise, but Corri Vermilya insisted she and her Loudonville teammates still have plenty of work to do.
A senior and Ashland University recruit, Vermilya poured in 30 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and pocketed eight steals as the Redbirds opened their season with a resounding 71-32 win over Lexington at the Bird Cage.
“We did some things well, but I wouldn’t say we’re pleased with where we’re at,” said Vermilya, Ohio’s reigning Division III Player of the Year and a Ms. Basketball finalist. “Looking at the score, you might think we’re satisfied, but we’ve always got bigger things we want to accomplish.
“We need to keep pushing ourselves harder.”
Lexington (0-2) jumped to an early 3-0 lead thanks to a Tatum Stover 3-pointer, but the Redbirds scored the next nine points and never looked back. Back-to-back layups by Sophia Spangler gave Loudonville a 4-3 lead at the 5:03 mark of the first period and the Redbirds were off and flying
“On offense we executed our stuff pretty well,” Vermilya said. “Defensively we were able to turn Lexington over and score in transition.”
The Redbirds forced 27 Lexington turnovers leading to 37 points. Loudonville also dominated on the glass, out-rebounding Lady Lex 42-19. The ’Birds swiped 20 offensive boards — including six by Vermilya and five by Alesha Felix — resulting in an 18-5 advantage in second-chance points.
“Alesha Felix was a dog on the glass tonight,” Vermilya said. “We’re really proud of her and the guards hit the boards tonight, too. If we keep that up and fix the little things we need to, we’re going to be hard to stop.”
Loudonville led 22-5 after the first quarter and 42-15 at the half. An 8-0 run to open the third quarter pushed Loudonville’s advantage to 50-15 and triggered the running clock
Lexington responded with an 8-0 run of its own to trim the margin to 50-23 after a Zoe Borowicz layup with 3:30 to play in the third. Loudonville closed the quarter on a 10-2 run and led 60-25 after three quarters.
Lexington again played without the injured Ava Brown. The 6-foot-2 sophomore center is expected back in the next couple weeks.
“To be honest, we are a talented team with or without her on the floor,” first-year Lexington coach Gabby Stover said. “Having her back will help us out, but we are a big team without her. You wouldn’t have known it tonight. We played small.
“We’ve got to make some adjustments there and get a little more active on the boards.”
Lexington connected on just 14-of-44 field goal attempts. Makaree Chapman led Lady Lex with 10 points.
Vermilya got plenty of scoring help from fellow seniors Spangler and Jena Guilliams, who scored 12 points apiece. Freshman Mya Vermilya added 11 in her varsity debut.
“Corri Vermilya is very good, but she’s got a lot of talent around her,” Stover said. “They’re a very good team.”
