January 16, 2025

Lenox’s six triples down Maroonettes

Cadence Douglas and Jynessa Cox both connect on a pair of 3-point baskets

By JARED LARSON

Tigers Sadie Cox (25) and Jynessa Cox (23) trap Diagonal's Taylor Lumbard (43). The two finished with 22 of Lenox's 47 points. (Colleen Larimer)

LENOX – Freshman Sadie Cox racked up 16 points and 17 rebounds which led the Lenox to a 47-32 win over visiting Diagonal on Monday. The win is the fourth straight in the series.

Lenox improves their record to 7-0 and the Maroonettes fall to 6-3.

“First time we played man-to-man all year long and I thought we did a good job for the first time playing it,” Lenox head coach Jesse Cox said.

Taylor Lumbard led Diagonal with 13 points.

The hosts led 9-4 at the 3:00 mark and led 10-8 after the first quarter.

The Tigers defense dug in and only allowed three Diagonal points in the second quarter and Lenox took a 19-11 advantage into the locker room. The Maroonettes made just three field goals in the first half.

“We got a little lucky, Diagonal missed some shots they usually hit in the first half,” Cox said. “I love both post players that Diagonal has, we did a good job of guarding their interior presence.”

Shutting down Diagonal’s inside play was a large emphasis coming into Monday’s game.

“They’ve [Diagonal’s interior girls] got great moves, they seal well, the pin well, they now how to cut to the ball and they’re obviously well coached,” Cox said. “If you live in Diagonal, you know how to play basketball.”

Diagonal’s Taylor Lumbard and Lenox’s Zoey Reed opened the second half with baskets for their respective teams.

Lenox’s lead shrunk to as little as five, 25-18, for the remainder of the game. Lenox finished the quarter on a 11-5 run. The Tigers 19 point edge with four minutes remaining was their largest of the game.

Lenox (7-0, 3-0 Pride of Iowa) returns to action tonight, when the Tigers travel to Central Decatur for a Pride of Iowa clash beginning at 6 p.m.

“We’re going to have a big test going to Central Decatur,” Cox said. “They’re undefeated in the conference. If you play girls basketball in Central Decatur, you know how to play basketball because they’ve been to the state tournament many times.”

Lenox 47, Diagonal 32

LENOX (FG FT PTS) – Totals – 19 3-6 47. Sadie Cox 7 1-3 16, Cadence Douglas 3 2-4 10, Zoey Reed 3 0-0 6, Jynessa Cox 2 0-0 6, Kambrie Michel 3 0-2 6, Marcey Bailey 1 0-0 3. 3-point goals (6) – J. Cox 2, Douglas 2, S. Cox 1, Reed 1.

DIAGONAL (FG FT PTS) – Totals – 12 5-12 32. Taylor Lumbard 5 3-5 13, Anna Newton 3 2-4 9, Kerrigan Mobley 3 0-0 8, Alaina Whittington 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals (3) – Mobley 2, Newton 1.