By Leslie Boyd

Sports Editor

Durant hosted Ardmore Tigers in their final home stand before the holidays. The girls rose above the Tigers, but the boys fell after a battle for the ball.

Girls

Ardmore started strong against the Lady Lions stretching a lead 7-0, but Kaylie Baxter set for a shot and succeeded, sinking a three-pointer to shorten the gap.

Kortney Boyd then followed on the next Durant possession with her own three-pointer.

Durant took over the game quickly to demolish the early lead Ardmore held. At the buzzer to end the first quarter, Baxter fired the ball towards the goal for a score, extending the Lady Lions’ lead 22-11.

In the second, Durant’s fire continued to burn hot with a Shaina Crites three-pointer to bring a 12-point lead over the Lady Tigers at 27-15.

Durant’s passing and rebounding were tight as they continued to dominate over the Lady Tigers, leading into halftime with a Durant lead of 36-25.

After the half, Ardmore tried to fight back, but Durant continued their stride and steamrolled over the Lady Tigers.

Every Durant player had a score on Friday night as head coach Chad Rumer substituted his starters for some players on the bench.

As the win approached, Rumer exchanged high-fives from his players on the bench. The last seconds ticked down and the Lady Lions fourth win was in the bag. Durant Lady Lions took the victory 69-33.

Kortney Boyd powered the offense with 16 total points in the win.

Sierra Moore closely followed with 15 points.

Kaylie Baxter chipped in 12 points to round off the double scoring.

Shaina Crites provided five points while Kenzi Clapp, Dylan Delozier, and Taylor Richards all posted four points.

Sierra Wilhite and Shelbi Barrett each nailed a three-pointer in the game for their points and Morgan Steve ended the scoring with two.

The Lady Lions will take part in the Del City tournament, first facing Norman in Del City at 11:00 a.m.

Boys

Durant Lions took the court with optimism after what head coach Jason Wilkerson called “one of the best weeks of practice.” However, Ardmore showed their determination in the fight as the Lions fell 36-27.

Durant’s Daylan Green drew first score to lead Ardmore 2-0 within seconds of game start.

Ardmore then tied the game. Green drew a foul to bring back a Durant lead 3-2 followed by a Cole Hughes three-pointer to extend the lead 6-2.

Ardmore answered back with their own shot to close the gap 6-4.

A back-and-forth battle began as Ardmore tied the game with 4:24 left in the first quarter. Ardmore then took the lead, but Hughes took it back with a three-pointer of his own at the 1:22 mark. Durant led Ardmore 10-8.

Ardmore fought back to take over the lead 11-10, which ended the first quarter.

Second quarter saw the Tigers take off and widen the gap, despite the struggle of free-throws. Ardmore led Durant 24-16 to send the teams to the locker room.

After the half, Durant continued to battle and prevented a high scoring game. Durant’s Daylan Green was pulled in the third quarter due to a shoulder injury. Wilkerson said the injury was “a temporarily dislocated shoulder”, but it was popped back into place. Green will sit out until a follow-up appointment allows him to get back on the court.

The fourth quarter continued Ardmore’s domination and Durant’s determination. Although the Lions fell to the Tigers 36-27, the battle gives them the moral victory for the night after holding their own with Ardmore, who is currently ranked number six in the state.

Cole Hughes led the offense with 12 total points in the game.

Daylan Green followed with eight, despite his injury in the third quarter.

Zac Cater posted four while Dakota Green chipped in three points.

Durant Lions will see the court again on December 28 when they face Del City in the Del City tournament at 4:30 p.m.