LOMEGA STILL ON TOP
Lady Raiders hammer Burlington for 4th straight conference title
LOMEGA’S Courtney Fox (with ball) drives against Burlington during Saturday’s conference championship game. Fox scored 23 in Lomega’s 71-41 win and was named tournament MVP. [Photo by Candace Gonzales/Warrior Heart Photography]
Lomega’s dominance of the Cherokee Strip Conference Tournament continued last weekend.
And it did so in dominant fashion.
Courtney Fox and Emma Duffy led a second-half charge to lead the Lady Raiders past Burlington, 71-41, in the championship game at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center in Enid.
The conference tournament crown was the fourth straight for Lomega, ranked second in Class B.
It was also the second win this season for the Lady Raiders over No. 6 Burlington.
“We played about as well as we could, especially in the second half,” said coach Kevin Lewallen. “Our teams are closer than that score. It just got away from them and we took advantage.”
Fox was named tournament MVP after she scored 15 points in a 27-7 third-quarter run that allowed Lomega to break open what was a tie game in the third quarter.
“She caught fire and the whole team followed,” Lewallen said. “We were starting to warm up already, but once one of their best players got in foul trouble, we were able to really take advantage of everything.”
The game was knotted at 32-all with 5:16 left in the third when Burlington’s Anna Motycka was whistled for her fourth foul.
Burlington made just one field goal the rest of the game. Meanwhile, Fox nailed four 3-pointers in the third quarter alone.
Fox finished the game with 23 points - 18 in the second half - as Lomega outscored Burlington 41-13 in the second half.
Duffy was doing everything else for Lomega.
She scored a game-high 26 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and added five blocks for good measure.
“She was dominant,” Lewallen said.
Duffy scored 17 of her points in the decisive second half and was named to the all-tournament team.
Lomega was 19-3 after the win. Burlington dropped to 17-2 with both losses coming to the Lady Raiders.
Duffy scored 16 points and Fox nine in Friday’s 49-41 semifinal win against Timberlake.
The Lady Raiders entered the game red-hot from the field, but made just 18 percent of their 3-point attempts.
“We had open looks, but just didn’t make them,” Lewallen said. “That allowed them (Timberlake) to stay in the game.
“I guess we were just saving everything up for Saturday night.”
Raiders rebound for 3rd
After a heart-breaking loss on Friday, Lomega’s boys bounced back for a third-place finish at the Cherokee Strip Conference Tournament.
The Raiders dominated the fourth quarter Saturday to beat Timberlake 58-49 in that third-place game.
Noah Snowden scored 22 points and helped lead the Raiders back from a five-point deficit going into the fourth quarter.
That’s when they outscored the Tigers 20-6 to seal the win.
Snowden was named to the all-tournament team.
Lomega also got 11 points each from Brock Mowery and Riley Lumpkin.
The Raiders were coming off a double-overtime loss to Ringwood in Friday’s semifinal.
They trailed the Devils by 11 entering the fourth quarter of that contest, but tied it up with a 19-8 run in the final quarter of regulation.
After both teams scored six in the first overtime, Ringwood outscored Lomega 3-0 in the second OT.
Snowden scored 19 points and Mowery 11.
Lomega finished the tournament with a 13-9 overall record.