Dec. 9—Down by five points in the third quarter, Durant junior Emma Green swished a buzzer-beating three-point shot that would prove to be back-breaking for McAlester.
Even though the Lady Buffaloes committed 18 turnovers in the contest, they never trailed by more than five points until the final quarter of play where the Lady Lions went on to have a perimeter shooting clinic.
The McAlester Lady Buffaloes (0-2) hosted the Durant Lady Lions (5-2) at the McAlester Activity Center for their home opener, but narrowly fell 44-35.
Sophomore Rylan Lesnau led the team with 15 points while sophomore Kambree Zummer racked up eight points and 13 total rebounds.
Early turnovers on back-to-back possessions in the opening quarter allowed Durant to get on the board first as sophomore Ella Sorrels knocked down a triple.
However, only down 5-2 midway through the period, the Lady Buffaloes were able to make a quick turnaround.
Lesnau first got McAlester in rhythm with a crucial and-one play and Zummer continued the momentum with a layup to give the Lady Buffaloes their first lead of the game at 10-8.
Each team would trade scoreless possessions before Durant tied the game 10-10 at the end of the first quarter.
A battle at the charity stripe opened the second quarter and saw the Lady Lions holding a one-point lead, but just like she did in the opening eight minutes of play, Lesnau paced the Lady Buffaloes’ offense with a big bucket to knot things up at 15.
With just under three minutes left in the half, the physical contest that had mostly taken place at the rim, moved outside behind the arc. Sorrels sank her second perimeter shot of the game and sophomore Iyana Wilson did the same off of a McAlester turnover, forcing a timeout.
McAlester senior Avrey Alberson answered with a triple of her own though it wouldn’t be enough to overcome the team’s ultimate five point deficit at the break, 23-18.
Unlike the first half, the Lady Buffaloes got off to a fast start coming out of the locker rooms and once again, it was Lesnau going to work. Her layup and three-point play to open the third quarter kept McAlester fighting and senior Beaudee Nystrom, who had a quiet first half, gave the Lady Buffaloes their first lead in over 10 minutes of play at the free throw line.
The fourth quarter was more of a scrappy defensive battle as neither team scored in nearly the first three minutes of the period. Lesnau did all she could to not allow Durant to pull away down by seven. However, two more triples by Green and one by Wilson just about put the nail in the coffin as the Lady Buffaloes found themselves down double digits in the waning seconds of the game and ultimately fell 44-35.
McAlester will next return to the court when it faces Coweta (3-1) on the road Monday Dec. 17 at 6 p.m.
