What does it take to go 16-4? Or 12- 2 in the Mid State League? Or undefeated at home? Or to be league champs?
One could start by asking any member of the 2007-2008 girls basketball team, which has accomplished all of these things this season.
Ending the regular season with a 16- 4 record, the team earned the fifth seed in the district, drawing Columbus South in the first round of the tournament.
The ladies arrived at the Dublin Jerome High School game, only to blow out the Bulldogs 73-29, with every Lion playing significant minutes and all but three scoring.
With the win over South, Bexley advanced to play Bishop Hartley in the sectional finals Feb. 13. The Lions played solid defense, holding the Hawks to only 34 points. Seniors Monica Gustin and Melissa Hart combined for that same total, as Bexley moved on to a 17 point victory.
On Feb. 18, the Lions took their 19-4 record into the District Semifinals to play Big Walnut High School at Pickerington North. Only four Lions scored, and the team suffered a 48-41 loss in what became their final game of the season.
Although the Lions didn’t go on to accomplish every team’s goal of a state championship, the squad claimed the MSL Ohio Division Championship trophy, along with the sectional title.
Junior Rachel Hart said that a lot of the team’s achievements should be attributed to senior leadership.
“[Senior leadership] has been one of the biggest factors of our success,” Hart said. “Alex, Melissa and Monica have really stepped up; we wouldn’t be as good without them,” Hart added.
The Lions and their senior leaders ended the season with an 11 game winning streak.
However, the Lions’ journey didn’t start out that smoothly.
The team got off to a slow start, losing their first game to Licking Valley, then going 5-2 in the first half of league competition, and also losing to Dublin Coffman and Brookhaven. The second time through the MSL was much improved, as the team went a perfect 7-0.
Junior Rachel Hart said something that helped build team chemistry was the system of goals.
The team set five goals to accomplish throughout the year, Gustin said.
The Lions have met four of those five goals: going undefeated at home, carrying a team GPA of 3.2 or higher, winning the league and continuing the Bexley tradition, Gustin said.
Coach Wade Brockwell and the Lions sealed the league title for the 18th time in the last 25 years, finishing with a record of 19-3.
Published February 2008. Digitized 2025.