Expectations are high for the Lexington High girls basketball team. Coach Molly Goodrich is hardly backing down from those lofty prospects.

“We definitely have a lot of talent and a lot of pieces to be successful,” Goodrich said.

The Wildcats return three significant contributors from a club that posted a 17-5 record, including 8-2 in 5A Region 4 a season ago. That team bowed out in the second round of the playoffs. 

While winning the state championship is the ultimate goal for this club, Goodrich has established a much simpler baseline for success.

“Our goal is to get better every day at whatever we’re doing,” she said. “We’re not worried about what we do in March. We’re interested in getting better today and every day. Beyond that, our goal is to win games.”

Goodrich certainly knows a fair bit about winning. She took over a program in the 2015-16 season when it had a difficult time fielding enough players to form an entire roster. 

Her teams over the next decade have never experienced a losing season, and Goodrich resides atop Lexington’s all-time list of coaching wins with a 165-74 record.

Dismissing the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, Lexington captured four consecutive region championships from 2018-19 to 2022-23. Her 2018-19 club advanced to the state final before losing.

To attain that kind of success this season, Goodrich believes her team will have to play at a much faster pace. They will have to be much more like cheetahs than wildcats. 

That means forcing the action with pressure defense, asking her point guards to push the ball down the court and rebounding effectively to trigger fastbreaks.

“We definitely want to play fast basketball,” she said. “We would rather be in a full-court game and fast-paced.”

Leading the charge will be 6-foot-1 senior center Sydni Anderson. She led the Wildcats a season ago in both scoring, with 13.7 points per game, and rebounding, with 9.9 per game. 

She is the quintessential post player who plays with a high motor, according to Goodrich.

Jaleya Lytes is a 5-4 senior shooting guard who averaged 8.9 points per game last season. Goodrich says Lytes brings tremendous intensity to the defensive end of the court.

Braidi Goodrich, the coach’s daughter, will handle point guard duties. She is a 5-2 junior who led the team a season ago with a 5.5 assist per game. Her quickness with the ball will allow Lexington to rush the ball up the court.

Cassidy Harry, a 5-8 junior shooting guard, could be the most versatile player on the squad. She averaged 4.5 points and 5.4 rebounds a season ago, can score inside or outside, rebound and play sterling defense.

Keira Bobseine, a 5-6 junior guard, is the team’s top three-point shooting threat. She averaged 5.4 points a game a season ago.

As a bonus to the roster, the parents of Logan Murillo relocated to the Michelin plant in Lexington when the tire plant closed in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Murillo is a 5-foot-10 forward who has a solid shooting touch and can play inside and outside.

The Lavington sisters are also expected to contribute. Kyrin is a 5-6 guard/forward who can play inside or outside and is an excellent defender. Riyan is a 6-2 center who gives the Wildcats a presence around the basket.

It adds up to a seasoned team that returns 61 percent of its minutes played from a year ago and possesses talent up and down the roster. Thus, the lofty expectations for the Wildcats.