DURANT — The Lady Lions had their season-opening, six-game win streak end at the hands, or more accurately, the arm of McAlester pitcher Taylor Dewberry Tuesday. McAlester opened with a three-run cushion, and after 19 Dewberry strikeouts later, toppled Durant 9-1.

“We’re better than that,” said Durant coach Perry Turnbow. “I take nothing away from McAlester, because they’re a good team, but I expect us to make it a lot better ball game the next time we play them.”

Dewberry was easily the most talented pitcher the Lady Lions have seen this season, but she got more than enough insurance through the first two innings.

Shay Griffin led the Lady Buffs’ offense with a two-run double in the first inning and added a solo home run in the third inning to lift McAlester to a 7-0 lead.

The Lady Lions’ lone answer came after Nicole Owens reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the third inning. Ashlyn Davenport broke up the no-hit bid with a bunt single before Kasi Phillips drove in the lone Durant run with a two-out single.

Durant put two more baserunners aboard the rest of the game. Owens drew a walk, and Destiny Renegar reached on a dropped third strike in the fifth inning.

McAlester supplied insurance with an RBI-single by Rachel Bernhardt in the fourth and a pair of singles led to the last run in the top of the seventh.

Durant fell to 6-1 on the season, which also reflects the record of starting pitcher Shaina Crites.

The Lady Lions begin play in the Shawnee Tournament Thursday.

On Monday, the Lady Lions picked up a pair of wins although they had left town only expecting to play one game. Durant only had it scheduled to play Rattan, but it turned into a 3-way with Valliant. Durant opened with a 6-1 win over Rattan and won 8-5 over Rattan.

Against Rattan, Durant led 2-1 until scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Kailyn Ward had her first start of the season, but finished with a no-decision after 5.1 innings of work.

Crites entered the game with runners on first and third and one out and fanned the next five batters in the lineup for the win. She helped her cause in the seventh with a two-run single.