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Lady Lion Iyana Wilson goes up for a basket during the recent Madill Winter Classic. Matt Swearengin | Durant Democrat -
Lion Callaway Nabors shoots the ball during the recent Madill Classic.
Durant’s girls basketball team bounced back from a loss to defending state champ Sapulpa to topple Tulsa Edison for their first district win of the season last week.
The Lions weren’t quite as fortunate in dropping their fourth straight league decision despite taking Sapulpa to the brink early in the week.
Both Durant squads will be off for the Christmas break before returning to action January 4 in the McAlester Tournament. The Lady Lions will match up with Class 6A Edmond Santa Fe in round one at 10 a.m. with the Lions to follow against district foe Tulsa Rogers.
Girls
Friday’s contest proved to be all Lady Lions as they raced to a 20-5 lead after one stanza sparked by a pair of Kennedy Lafevers three pointers.
Maya Dodson pumped in five points in the second period and Lafevers tossed in another trey to help push the Durant edge to 34-7 at halftime and they coasted through the second half on the way to a 5522 triumph to carry a 3-4 record into the semester break.
Dodson finished with 12 to lead a well-balanced charge for the Lady Lions. Lafevers and Ella Sorrells posted nine points apiece, Sydney Grover tossed in eight, Emeri Morse had seven with Abrianna Freeman adding four, Iyana Wilson had three and Zoe Lee notched two.
Things were a bit tougher on Tuesday with a 69-41 loss on the road at Sapulpa as Durant was blitzed 18-4 in the opening quarter and could never recover.
Sapulpa led 33-18 at intermission and extended the margin to 48-26 through three periods.
Dodson had a big night despite the loss, canning a season- high five three pointers on the way to a team-best 20 points.
Sorrells and Freeman each finished with six points, Wilson scored four, Lafevers had three and Grover scored two.
Boys
Durant looked to be on the verge of an upset at Sapulpa, carrying a lead to the fourth quarter before the Chieftains made key plays down the stretch to forge a 50-46 triumph.
The Lions trailed 15-13 after one quarter and 26-23 at the half before a 13-8 third period burst keyed by four points from Ryder Jones and a Braylen Lyday three pointer. That surge pushed the visitors in front 36-34 but Sapulpa senior standout Kylen Edwards scored eight of his game-high 14 points in the final stanza to rally the Chieftains.
Jaylon Saxon pumped in five in the final quarter to help keep Durant within striking distance but Sapulpa sank free throws down the stretch to ice the victory.
Saxon and Jones each tallied 12 points to lead the way for the Lions. Lyday tossed in seven with Kolton Mason and Callaway Nabors adding three apiece. Joseph Flores and Nate Rudolf both had two points.
Returning home on Friday, Durant was toe-to-toe with Edison while trailing by two at halftime before a massive third quarter run by the Eagles put it away.
Edison strung together a 26-6 burst, including four three pointers, as the Lions went cold on the way to a 5736 defeat.
Saxon sank three treys in the opening half and finished with four on the way to a team-high 14 points. Nabors just missed reaching double figures with nine. Mason scored six, Carson Robinson had five, Jones added two and Flores scored one point.