Lomega denied 3-peat

The two best teams in Class B squared off for the state championship.

The one that made the most shots took home the gold ball.

“Sometimes it’s that simple,” said Lomega coach Kevin Lewallen after his Lady Raiders were dethroned Saturday by Pittsburg at State Fair Arena.

Lomega’s Hensley Eaton’s driving leaner bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded to give Pittsburg a 53-51 victory to cap a 30-0 season and win the first state championship of any kind for the school.

No. 1 Lomega was gunning for its third straight championship, but shot just 38 percent (18 of 48) for the game.

The Lady Panthers shot 50 percent (19 of 38).

The biggest discrepancy, though, was beyond the 3-point line.

Pittsburg was 12 of 22 from beyond the arc.

Lomega made just three of its 15 attempts, a 27-point difference.

“Overall, I thought we played pretty good on defense,” Lewallen said of his team that forced 18 turnovers and scored 19 points off of them.

“But we just had a couple of breakdowns and it seemed like they were able to take advantage of every one of them.”

Despite struggling more from the field, Lomega led for a majority of the game.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Darcy Roberts and Chloe Meier gave the Lady Raiders a 30-25 halftime lead.

Roberts’ three-point play at 4:01 of the third quarter pushed Lomega on top 40-32.

Pittsburg’s production remained steady throughout the game, but Lomega’s waned for the next eightplus minutes.

That’s when the Lady Panthers made their move.

Pittsburg closed the third with a 10-2 run that included a pair of 3-pointers from Catyn Graham.

The second one was from about 24 feet, which tied the game at 42-42.

Lomega got buckets from Roberts and Hensley Eaton to start the fourth, but Pittsburg again had the answer.

This time it was treys by Tori Kilburn and Trinity Wiseman as the Lady Panthers went on a 10-0 run to take a 42-46 lead with 3:44 to play.

Lomega inched back into it.

Sydni Walker’s bucket in the paint pulled it within 52-49 with 1:26 left.

Pittsburg was able to chew time off the clock, but didn’t score on its ensuing possession. Lomega turned it over, but pulled within 52-51 with a Hallie Barton layup off of a steal with 12 seconds to play.

Wiseman made a free throw with 9.6 seconds left, but missed her second

That gave Lomega its final shot.

Roberts dribbled down the right side of the defense and handed off to Meier.

The freshman skipped it to Eaton on the opposite side of the court.

Eaton had time for one dribble before putting up a contested left-hand runner that came up just short.

Graham scored 15 points for Pittsburg. She was 5 of 8 from 3-point range and was named tournament MVP.

The lady Panthers got 13 points and 10 rebounds from Kilburn, who played the final 10:17 with four fouls.

Katie Allen added 11 points.

Eaton scored eight points in her final game. She finished her Lomega career with a 9-2 state tournament record that included two state titles, a state tournament MVP (2020) and the runner-up finish.

Abby Swart and Meier scored eight points apiece while Walker added seven points and six rebounds.

Roberts led the team with 15 points and eight boards.

She was named to the all-tournament team along with Swart.

They combined for 31 points in Friday’s 65-40 semifinal win against Whitesboro.

Up six after the first quarter, Lomega went on a 22-8 run in the second.

Lomega made Whitesboro uncomfortable by pushing the pace.

The Lady Bulldogs ultimately turned it over 28 times. That led to 32 Lomega points.

Swart scored 11 points and was 3 of 7 from 3-point range.

Eaton also scored 11 and made a pair of treys.

Roberts led all scorers with 20, which included two 3-pointers.

In all, Lomega knocked down 10 shots from long range in the semifinals.

Those shots just didn’t fall the next day as Lomega’s season ended with a 24-6 record.

“I always say it’s an easy game when the ball goes in,” Lewallen said. “We made a good run and I’m proud of the way our girls battled, even when the shots weren’t going in.

“They (Pittsburg) are a really good team and they shot it really well. Still, we were right there with them and had a chance to tie it. We didn’t get the ball we wanted, but it was still a special season.”

Class B State

Championship Box Score

Pittsburg 53

Lomega 51

Pittsburg 12 13 17 11 - 53

Lomega 14 16 12 9 - 51

Pittsburg (30-0) - Catyn Graham 15, Tori Kilburn 13, Katie Allen 11, Trinity Wiseman 9, Camryn Graham 5.

Lomega (24-6) - Darcy Roberts 15, Abby Wart 8, Hensley Eaton 8, Chloe Meier 8, Sydney Walker 7, Shelby Russell 3, Hallie Barton 2.