It was one of those games where one team dominated the box score but somehow lost the scoreboard.
McAlester did just about everything right, outperforming Claremore in nearly every category.
The Lady Buffaloes hit more 3-pointers, shot better from the free-throw line and owned the glass Tuesday night at the Doug K. Mosier Athletic Complex. They even watched Lady Zebras coach Lynn Roper get ejected in the fourth quarter after picking up his second technical foul.
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Yet, when the horn sounded, it was Claremore walking away with a convincing 57-45 District 5A-4 victory.
It wasn’t even close in the end, but how was that possible? The difference was simple and overwhelming.
Turnovers.
The Lady Zebras [10-6, 4-4 district] forced 25 McAlester turnovers, an average of 6.3 per quarter, while committing just 6 of their own. Claremore was flawless with the ball in the second half, not giving it away once.
The Lady Buffaloes [4-15, 2-8], meanwhile, turned it over 9 times in the opening quarter alone, more than the Lady Zebras had all game.
That pressure completely flipped what otherwise looked like a McAlester advantage.
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3-pointers? Advantage: McAlester [4-2]
Free throws? Advantage: McAlester [11-15, 73.3% vs. 7-13, 53.9%]
Rebounds? Advantage: McAlester [41-28]
Offensive Rebounds? Advantage: McAlester [19-17]
None of it mattered.
Claremore leaned into its defense and let Asia Roper handle the rest.
Asia Roper poured in 28 points, all while grabbing 5 rebounds — every one of them on the offensive end. She repeatedly punished the Lady Buffaloes’ miscues in transition and took over late, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter despite missing 3 free throws down the stretch as the Lady Zebras pulled away.
Alayna Eberley added 13 points and 2 rebounds, including a massive 3-pointer just before the third-quarter buzzer that gave Claremore momentum heading into the final frame.
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Claire Pilkington chipped in 10 points and 5 rebounds, while Autumn Roper grabbed a team-high 6 boards and Grace Waters added 3 points and 5 rebounds.
McAlester was led by Rylan Lesnau, who battled inside for 22 points and 12 rebounds, 8 of them offensive.
Kambree Zummer scored 12 points, while Mylah Cole and Kali Burow finished with 9 and 7 rebounds, respectively, highlighting just how dominant the Lady Buffaloes were on the glass.
The game stayed tight through three quarters.
The Lady Zebras led 14-12 after one and 26-23 at halftime, surviving McAlester’s rebounding edge by forcing 15 first-half turnovers.
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Zummer briefly pushed the Lady Buffaloes ahead late in the third quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, but Eberley’s buzzer-beater sent Claremore into the fourth with a 38-36 lead.
From there, it was all Lady Zebras.
Claremore ripped off a 24-9 run that spanned the final moments of the third and the entirety of the fourth, fueled by Asia Roper’s relentless scoring and McAlester’s continued struggles to protect the ball.
Even after Lynn Roper’s ejection, the Lady Zebras stayed composed, finishing the game without committing a turnover after halftime.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Claremore, during which it had lost by an average of 17 points. After a 14-day layoff caused by winter weather postponements, the Lady Zebras looked refreshed and reconnected to the defensive identity that fueled their early-season success.
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Claremore faces a quick turnaround, traveling to Glenpool at 6 p.m. Friday — a team that beat it 70-37 last month — before returning home at 6 p.m. Saturday to host Pryor in the inaugural Highway 20 Rivalry game.
