Class B girls basketball preview
BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Thursday, February 28, 2013
2/28/13 at 6:01 AM
When: Thursday-Saturday
Where: First round at Carl Albert High School; semifinals and finals at State Fair Arena, Oklahoma City
Tickets: $5
Last year's champion/Team to beat
Lomega: Has unmatched tradition with 10 previous state titles. But the Raiders (24-7) lost to Red Oak (26-3) in the area final and had to qualify through the back door. Hammon (25-4) lost to Lomega in last year's final and also finished runner-up the year before.
Teams to watch
Red Oak: Was a semifinalist last year and also dominates in softball. The Eagles won the slowpitch title last spring and beat Hammon for the fall fastpitch title. They are making a 12th straight state appearance in the three sports combined. Baylee Evans averages 14.3 points and 3.7 assists.
Deer Creek/Lamont: DCLA (21-7) won both regular-season meetings with Lomega but lost three times to Timberlake (23-3).
Hammon: Kori Barrios and Erin Burch have 100 assists each.
Erick: Is 22-8 and had narrow losses to 4A No. 3 Cushing and 3A No. 4 Verdigris in the Tournament of Champions.
Players to watch
Ashley LaGasse, Lomega: The 5-foot-5 senior was the MVP of last year's tournament after scoring 25 points in the championship game. She averages 19 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Daniela Galindo, Shattuck: The junior forward is the tournament's leading scorer at 25.4 points per game. She also averaged 11 rebounds and six assists, leading the Indians to their first appearance in six years.
Kylee Severin, Timberlake: The senior guard hasn't seen action since tearing her ACL in the final regular-season game, but will try to play in the state tournament with her knee in a brace.
