Lomega winning ways continue at new coliseum

Fittingly, the program that won more than any other in “The Big House” captured the very first victory at the new site of the state tournament.

Lomega christened OG&E Coliseum on Tuesday morning with a 65-36 domination of Arnett in the Class B-II girls state quarterfi nals.

The game, which tipped off at 9 a.m., was the first one played in the new arena, which replaces Jim Norick Arena (State Fair Arena), which hosted state for five decades.

What wasn’t new was a Lomega quarterfinal win. The top-ranked Lady Raiders advanced to the state semifinals for the 29th consecutive time when qualifying for state.

That streak dates back to 1985.This one was a cakewalk despite Lomega shooting just 26.7 percent for the game.

Ninth-ranked Arnett had no answer for Lomega’s pressure and turned it over 40 times.

That included 21 in the first half when Lomega heated up long enough for a 24-0 run that stretched more than a full quarter of game time.

The run started when the game was tied 6-6 and didn’t end until 2:13 was left in the first half.

After Arnett snapped the scoring drought, Lomega’s Jackie Penaran banked in a 3-pointer for a 33-8 lead.

The Lady Wildcats actually shot better than Lomega at 30.8 percent, but attempted 47 fewer shots.

Lomega converted the Arnett turnovers into 21 points.

Reagan Snowden paced the win with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

She led three Lady Raiders - and almost four - in double figures.

Paige Wheeler knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and scored 12 points.

Aliana Lawson added 11 points.

Hadley Ott scored 9 and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Lomega will play the winner of McCurtain and Lookeba-Sickles in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at OG&E Coliseum.

The Lady Raiders enter the semifinals with a 28-1 record.