PHOTO BY CHERI JAY-WIENECKE Lometa Hornet Brandon Lilly (20) hits a jumper in a recent contest. The Lady Hornets had an extremely busy week.

In the span of five days, Lometa’s varsity girls’ basketball team played four games, including three in three days at the Rising Star tournament.

Despite splitting the contests 2-2, the victories improved the Lady Hornets' record to 3-5 after a sluggish 1-3 start to the season.

Against Ranger in the opening round of the Rising Star tournament, Lometa took a 24-22 lead into halftime, but quickly lost control after the break as Ranger went on a 14-6 run in the third quarter.

The Lady Hornets bounced back in the final period, but the damage was done, and they lost 48-40.

Maribel Reyes scored a teamhigh 15 points, while Sasha Sosa and Adriana Hernandez added six apiece.

The loss sent the Lady Hornets into the consolation bracket where they ran into Gorman.

Lometa built a nine-point lead, 30-21, by the end of the third period, but watched it all nearly slip away as Gorman outscored the Lady Hornets 15-8 in the final eight minutes.

It was not enough, however, and Lometa barely won, 38-36, to advance to the consolation championship game.

While Gorman finished with just three players in the scoring column, the Lady Hornets’ offense was evenly distributed with five players scoring at least five points each.

Riding a small wave of momentum, the Lady Hornets crossed paths with Cross Plains for the consolation crown.

Lometa kept it close for a quarter before Cross Plains proved its dominance, outscoring the Lady Hornets 46-21 over the final three quarters to win 58-29.

Sosa scored a team-high nine points, and Marissa Nichols chipped in eight.

On Tuesday, the Lady Hornets returned home and picked up a 10- point victory, 41-31, over district foe Gustine.

But it was not easy. Lometa posted only four points in the first quarter, but closed out the half with 11 points to go into the locker room trailing by one, 16-15.

After the break, the Lady Hornets pulled away, ending the game with a 26-15 run. Maribel Reyes was the top offensive performer with 11 points. Nichols and Kylie Bradley followed with eight points each.

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The varsity boys’ team was also in Rising Star where they improved to 4-0 before falling to DeLeon in the championship game.

Dalton Parsons (14 points) and Dylan Straley (13 points) led the Hornets, but it was not quite enough as DeLeon won 55-53.

The loss did not slow down the Hornets, however.

Lometa blasted Gustine 56-30 Tuesday evening at home.

Parsons was the top scorer for the second consecutive game with 13 points. Colt Maldonado added 10.

Both varsity teams are competing in the Cherokee tournament this weekend.