HS Playoff Roundup: Goodrich’s heroics help Lexington girls past rival River Bluff
Braidi Goodrich and her Lexington basketball team weren’t ready for its season to end.
Goodrich, the Wildcats point guard, made two decisive plays in the final minute as Lexington rallied to beat rival River Bluff, 48-45, on Friday in the second round of the Class 5A Division I girls basketball playoffs.
The second-seeded Wildcats will host Carolina Forest in the third round on Monday.
“I just wanted to secure this win for my team. I wanted to keep playing, wanted to keep playing,” Braidi Goodrich said. “... It was really sweet to beat them for a third time, especially because it is a rivalry game. It was a good team win.”
It didn’t look good at times for the Wildcats, who trailed most of the second half and were down 45-44 after Lexington’s Kyrin Livingston layup with 1:15 left.
But Goodrich stepped in front of a Chaelyn Tifre pass and dove to the ground to get the ball where she was fouled. Then, the junior hit two free throws that put Lexington up 46-45 with 38.7 seconds left.
After a River Bluff miss, Lexington’s Riyan Livingston was fouled and went to the line. Livingston missed both free throws, but Goodrich came flying from the left side and grabbed the rebound and ended up back to the free-throw line.
“We like to cross whenever we do our rebounds on the free-throw line,” Goodrich said. “I just happened to see where it went and nothing was going to stop me from grabbing that ball.”
Goodrich sank both of the free throws to make it 48-45. She scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter. River Bluff got a good look at a game-tying 3-pointer, but Evie Godfrey’s attempt came up just short.
Lexington head coach and Braidi’s mom, Molly Goodrich, wasn’t surprised her daughter was able to make the big plays and hit those clutch shots because of all the time she puts in working on her free throws.
“She has a knack for that ball and is fearless, so she will get after it even if she gets hurt,” Molly Goodrich said of her daughter. “I’m so proud of her making those four free throws. She practices them every single day, making four in a row, so that opportunities like tonight could seal the game for us.”
Francis Marion signee Sydni Anderson led Lexington with 16 points.
It was the third meeting of the season between the two Lexington County rivals. The rivalry has some added juice with former Lexington assistant Jordan Leath taking over the Gators program this season. The Wildcats won the previous two meetings, 40-37 (Jan. 23), and 43-22 on Feb. 12.
But the Gators didn’t resemble the team that was blown out by the Wildcats eight days ago. River Bluff got big performances from Campbell Childers (14 points), Gabby Durant (11) and Godfrey (11), who combined for 36 of the team’s 45 points, and dominated the third quarter.
River Bluff outscored Lexington, 18-7, in the third quarter and led 39-32 after Godfrey’s 3-pointer. Leath subsequently motioned for the Gator fans to get on their feet going into the final quarter.
But coach Goodrich told her team there was plenty of time left and said River Bluff might have gotten a little ahead of itself as it was trying to snap its 11-game losing streak to its rival.
“My message was that they were cheering so loud that they thought they already won,” Molly Goodrich said. “I could kind of tell at times they look tired, so I used that to our momentum. I kept telling my girls there was a lot of game left. We just needed to keep playing one possession at a time, keep locking in on defense, getting defensive stops because they (River Bluff) played a really, good game and were physical.”
The Wildcats were able to chip away at the lead and Jaelya Lytes got Lexington within 41-40 with 2:45 left.
Friday’s Playoff Scores
SCHSL Class 5A Division II Boys
(1) Goose Creek 65, (9) White Knoll 39: The Timberwolves’ season ends on the road at Goose Creek.
(5) Irmo 59, (4) Berkeley 46: Khiry White scored 16 points, had 10 rebounds and Christian Brown added 15 points in the win. Irmo goes to Goose Creek on Monday.
(3) Westwood 73, (6) Conway 46: Jayden Crews scored 27 points in the Redhawks’ home win. D’Marcus Thomas added 15 and Daytron Cockfield had 11 for Westwood, which travels to St. James on Monday.
(2) St. James 59, (7) Lugoff-Elgin 51: The Demons’ season ends on the road at St. James.
SCHSL Class 3A Boys
(1) Orangeburg-Wilkinson 70, (8) Newberry 44: O-W outscored the Bulldogs 45-22 in the second half for the win.
(5) Keenan 70, (4) Georgetown 48: The Raiders won their second straight road playoff game and head to Orangeburg-Wilkinson on Monday. Bryson Schofield had 13 points and was one of five Raiders in double figures. Antoine Caughman had 12 while Marcus Simpson, Zyion James and Malik Brunson each had 10.
SCHSL Class 2A Boys
High Point Academy 65, Eau Claire 36: The Shamrocks’ season ended on the road at HPA.
Andrew Jackson 70, Fairfield Central 58: The Volunteers moved to the third round for third straight year and will face High Point Academy.
Clinton 56, Saluda 49: Nyterrian Smith leads the Red Devils with 17 points and PJ McGowan added 16.
American Leadership 57, Chesnee 53: The Patriots picked up their second playoff win in school history and will host Clinton in the third round Monday.
SCHSL Class 5A Division I Girls
(4) Blythewood 56, (5) Clover 39: The defending state champions move into the third round with a win over the Blue Eagles. Guard Chase Thomas led Blythewood with 20 points. The Bengals go to Dorman on Monday.
(3) Dutch Fork 55, (6) Byrnes 52: Jamia Gerald and Trinity Crumlin each had 18 points in the win over the Rebels. DF travels to Mauldin on Monday
Class 5A Division II Girls
(2) North Myrtle Beach 68, (7) Westwood 33: The Chiefs moved to 23-0 with the win over the Redhawks.
SCHSL Class 4A Girls
(4) Camden 70, (5) Blue Ridge 50: The Bulldogs are headed to the third round with a win over Blue Ridge.
LA Alexander had 18 points to lead Camden, while Jillian Rush had 13, Laikahlani Seegers 11 and Braylin Mungo 10.
(2) Daniel 75, (7) AC Flora 70: Teonna Draughn had 35 points in the season-ending loss for AC Flora.
(4) Gray Collegiate 48, (5) Wilson 45: Aneya Britt scored 19 points and Kiley Freeman as the War Eagles moved into the third round.
(1) North Augusta 69, (9) Lower Richland 33: The Yellow Jackets rolled to the third round and will host Gray Collegiate on Monday.
SCISA 4A Girls
Hammond 28, Palmetto Christian 14: The Skyhawks won a defensive battle and will play John Paul II in the second round on Monday.
Northside Christian 49, Wilson Hall 45 (OT): Kaleigh Howell scored 14 points and Maddie Coker 13 as the Crusaders advanced to the second round against Ben Lippen.
Heathwood Hall 60, Trinity Collegiate 24: The Highlanders won their playoff opener and will play First Baptist in the second round.
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 10:23 PM.
