Washington flexes its muscle

Usually it’s Lomega imposing its will on opponents.

On Tuesday, Washington did the imposing.

Class 3A’s top-ranked Lady Warriors moved into the finals of the Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic for the third straight year as they downed Lomega 63-34 in the semifinals at the Kerr Activities Center in Ada.

The loss moved the Lady Raiders from the ranks of the unbeaten as they dropped to 12-1 on the season. They played Keys for third place in the tournament on Wednesday afternoon. (Note: The game was after press time of this edition due to an early printing schedule.)

Washington struck quickly and often against Lomega and built a 23-7 first quarter lead.

The Lady Raiders struggled with Washington’s pressure. They committed 12 turnovers and shot just 27 percent in the first half.

Washington didn’t reciprocate fully. The Lady Warriors had nine miscues in the first half, but also routinely broke Lomega’s pressure for easy shots.

Although Lomega’s offense improved in the second quarter, the Lady Raiders still faced a 36-20 deficit.

Washington then closed the third quarter strong and increased its lead to 56-27.

Lomega ended the night with 25 turnovers and shot 27 percent. It was 2 of 16 (12.5 percent) from 3-point range.

Washington made nine 3-pointers.

Three were by Bentli Brantley as they accounted for all 9 of her points.

Preslee Johnson scored 18 to lead Washington.

Eternity Self added 10. Reagan Snowden was the lone Lady Raider in double figures with 16.

She also had 13 rebounds. Boards were a stat that didn’t see Lomega get dominated as Washington edged the Lady Raiders 47-46.

Kinsley Fisher added 9 rebounds and Aliana Lawson 7 for Lomega.

Those two combined for 10 points with Lawson scoring 6. Paige Wheeler also netted 6 points for the Lady Raiders.