Lady Raiders avenge loss to Calumet

Vengeance belonged to Lomega last weekend.

The Lady Raiders got a second crack at Calumet last Saturday and made good on it to claim the Canton Invitational Tournament championship.

Behind a stifling second-half defense, Lomega handed Calumet its fi rst loss of the season, 47-32.

Calumet, ranked second in Class A at the time of the matchup, dealt Lomega a 47-44 defeat on the Lady Raiders’ home court on Nov. 19.

“I just thought our defense was better this time, especially in the second half,” said Lomega coach Kevin Lewallen, whose team improved to 7-2 on the season.

“We got some steals and those led to easy baskets.”

After scoring just two points in the second quarter, Lomega found itself trailing the Lady Chieftains 21-16.

But the third quarter belonged to Lomega as it went on a 15-2 run.

Darcy Roberts and Adysen Wilson scored five points apiece during the run.

Shelby Russell also dropped in a 3-pointer as part of the burst.

The surge continued into the fourth quarter as the Lady Raiders extended their lead with a 16-9 advantage.

The team made 6 of 7 free throws to help season the win. Russell, Wilson and Roberts each made both of their attempts.

“We didn’t shoot the ball great overall, but we made enough shots to beat a good team,” Lewallen said.

Wilson led the team with 14 points and was named tournament MVP.

Russell scored 10, as did Reagan Ramer.

Wilson was joined on the all-tournament team by Hensley Eaton and Roberts, who combined for 10 points.

Eaton scored 10 and Roberts 17 in Friday’s 52-46 semifinal win against Fairview.

The Lady Jackets were ranked No. 10 in 2A.

Wilson added 13 in the win.

“I thought the team played really hard Friday and Saturday,” Lewallen said. “It was a tough tournament.”

The wins helped Lomega in the rankings as it crept from fourth to third in the latest Class B poll.

Despite 26 points from Noah Snowden, Lomega’s boys couldn’t knock off the host team in the third-place game.

Canton outscored the Raiders 21-6 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 53-47 victory.

Snowden was virtually unstoppable in the first half.

He scored 17 points as the Raiders built up a nine-point lead.

But Canton held Snowden to just two fi eld goals in the second half, which aided the comeback.

Dilon Fisher and Riley Lumpkin scored nine apiece, but also did much of their damage in the fi rst half.

Snowden did earn a spot on the all-tournament team.

He led Lomega with 15 points in Friday’s 66-48 loss to Hydro-Eakly, which was ranked No. 6 in Class A.

Lumpkin added 13 and Fisher 11.

Lomega was 5-4 after the pair of losses.