‘We got better’

How does a group bounce back one day after a 41-point loss to the No. 1 team in Class 4A?

By beating the No. 4 team, of course.

Lomega did just that Thursday night as it closed out its run at the Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic with a 57-53 overtime victory against Weatherford in the thirdplace game in Ada.

“I was a little worried about how our girls would react after the Tuttle game,” coach Kevin Lewallen said.

“But I’m proud of the way they came back that next day and beat a really good team.”

Tuttle pummeled the Lady Raiders 82-41 in the semifinal round en route to winning the title 52-20 against Perry.

With little time to wallow in pity, the Lady Raiders came back the next day to go toe-to-toe with Weatherford in the first quarter.

However, after scoring 16 points in the opening frame, Lomega managed just three over the next eight minutes and trailed 26-19 at halftime.

“We’d been playing all week against teams that were more athletic and more physical than us,” Lewallen said. “We had to find a way to fight through that.”

The Lady Raiders did.

After giving up four straight points and falling behind 30-25 midway through the third quarter, Lomega closed it with a 12-0 run.

Darcy Roberts started it with six straight points – a 3-pointer and a three-point play – and Hallie Barton ended it with a pair of free throws late in the quarter for a 37-30 advantage.

But Weatherford didn’t go away.

The Lady Eagles closed the gap in the fourth quarter and tied the game at 47-all on Addy Hoffman’s free throws with 57 seconds left in regulation.

Both teams missed on opportunities to go up in the final minute, including a 3-pointer by Weatherford’s Katen Daniel as the horn sounded.

Sydni Walker gave Lomega a lead it wouldn’t lose with her bucket less than 30 seconds into overtime.

“She had a really good tournament,” Lewallen said of his junior post who had eight points and five rebounds. “She didn’t score as much as others, but she was in a battle with some really good players all three games and she really played great defense.”

Abby Swart followed that with a 3-pointer while being fouled. Although she missed on the four-point opportunity, Lomega led 52-47 with 2:41 to go in OT.

Shelby Russell’s free throws with 1:30 remaining put Lomega back up by four points before Hunter Bayless sank a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game.

Roberts then sandwiched three free throws around a missed Weatherford 3-pointer to put the game away.

Swart scored 11 for Lomega while Hensley Eaton scored six.

Lewallen said Eaton’s ball-handling throughout the course of the tournament was vital.

“She did a great job, especially considering the amount of pressure teams put on her,” Lewallen said. “She made sure we were always in the right places.”

Roberts was named to the all-tournament team after capping it with a 21-point, 12-rebound performance.

“She came up big for us a bunch of times,” Lewallen said. “She was just really, really good.”

Roberts averaged 18.3 points and 8.0 rebounds for the tournament and had two double-doubles.

Lomega ended the tournament with a 12-2 overall record. The Lady Raiders hosted Class B No. 15 Okeene on Tuesday night before getting the rest of the week off.

To keep at the three tournament maximum for the season, the Lady Raiders’ JV team will play later this week in the Warrior Classic in Hammon.

In the meantime, Lewallen said last week’s slate of tough matchups was beneficial.

“It was really good for us to see the kinds of teams we did,” he said.

“We got better through the whole week because of it.”