ALL EYES ON LOMEGA

If it’s the state tournament and Lomega needs a big shot, Hensley Eaton has a knack for delivering.

This time it wasn’t late in the game or down the stretch, rather less than halfway through the first quarter of the Lady Raiders’ Class B semifinal Thursday night against No. 3 Varnum.

After Lomega missed its first four 3-point attempts, it was Eaton who stepped up and knocked one down at the 4:36 mark.

The Lady Raiders made two more in the next 90 seconds and 10 for the game as they eventually pulled away from Varnum for a 72-50 victory

“It really wasn’t pretty,” said Lomega coach Kevin Lewallen. “The first half was pretty bad by our standards. It gotbetter in the second half, but we’ll have to be a lot better on Saturday.

That’s when his team shoots for more history.

Lomega plays No. 5 Kiowa at 6 p.m. at State Fair Arena in the state championship game.

Lomega is looking for its second straight crown and 15th overall. It’s also attempting to complete a perfect season.

There were offensive stretches in the semifinal that made it appear the perfect season could be in jeopardy.

Although Lomega did connect on nearly a dozen 3-pointers, the team missed 27 of them.

It was just 5 of 20 in the first half and Lomega didn’t score for the first 5:05 of the second quarter.

But, defensively, the game wasn’t in doubt.

Lomega limited Varnum to 19 points on 19 percent shooting in the first half to stake a 26-19 lead.

The Lady Whippets heated up in the second half, but so did Lomega.

Eaton started the half with a 3-pointer and three more followed, one each from Emma Duffy, Adysen Wilson and Darcy Roberts.

The shots going through the net allowed Lomega to set up its press more often. That led to more Varnum turnovers and...more Lomega buckets.

When Roberts put back her own miss with 1:15 left in the third quarter, Lomega had extended its lead to 50-28.

“It was a big stretch for us,” Lewallen said. “That’s more what we’re accustomed to doing.”

Spreading the wealth is another.

Six different Lady Raiders reached double-digit scoring.

Roberts had 15 points and also added five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

“She is abeast,” Lewallen said. “She’s very athletic, but she’s strong enough to be physical, too.”

Duffy didn’t make a 3-pointer in Lomega’s quarterfinal win, but finally got her first one of the tournament to drop to give Lomega its first points of the second quarter.

That sparked her to 12 points overall. She grabbed 11 rebounds to give her double digits in that category for the second straight game at state.

Eaton ended her night with 11 points and four assists.

She earned state tournament MVP honors last year after Lomega beat Varnum in the state championship game.

“She did a lot of good things tonight; hit some big shots and played hard on defense,” Lewallen said.

Eaton had four steals as Lomega forced 24 turnovers and scored 21 points off of them.

Abby Swart scored 11 points while Wilson put in an all-around performance with 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Sydni Walker also scored 10 points.

Varnum, which beat Lomega in the 2019 semifinals en route to winning the state championship, was led by Halley Mack and Grace Lena.

Mack scored a gamehigh 17 points while Lena scored 15 and pulled down 13 boards before fouling out late.

Overall, Varnum shot just 26 percent.

Lomega has won six titles under Lewallen, with the first coming in 2007. This is the ninth title game overall during his tenure.

Class B Semifinals

Varnum — Hailey Mack 17, Grace Lena 15, Mindy Wildcat 6, Isabel Davis 4, Reanne Spraker 2, Mya Merritt 2, Savannah King 2, Laura McCutcheon 2.

Lomega — Darcy Roberts 15, Emma Duffy 12, Hensley Eaton 11, Abby Swart 11, Adysen Wilson 10, Sydni Walker 10, Madi Myers 3.