The Hornets are operating like a well-oiled machine.

Lometa got off to a fast start by winning its first four games of the basketball season before hitting a small speed bump at the Rising Star tournament several weeks ago, where the team lost by four points in the championship round to De Leon.

Since then, it has been full speed ahead for the Hornets. They have won six consecutive games, including a sweep of the competition at the Cherokee tournament.

After pounding Gustine by 26 points, 56-30, behind a trio of double-digit contributors — Dalton Parsons with 12 points, and Charlie Wagner and Colt Maldonado, 10 points each — for its first district victory of the season, Lometa traveled to Cherokee where it won all three of its games by a combined 68 points.

The Hornets opened tourney play by dominating Sidney in the first round 52-24, as Parsons and Edgar Castruita chipped in eight points apiece.

In round two, Lometa received its first scare since De Leon knocked it off its undefeated perch.

Despite impressive performances from Felipe Nava (18 pts.), Dylan Straley (14 pts.) and Maldonado (10 pts.), the game was determined in the final minutes. The Hornets narrowly prevailed, winning 72-68 to advance to the championship round for the second time in two tournaments.

This time, however, they would capitalize on the opportunity.

Lometa made short work of Blanket, winning 78-42. Nava scored a team-high 24 points, and Straley added 14.

The Hornets’ streak continued when they traveled down the road to Star and handed the home team a 23-point loss at 68-45, picking up their second district win in the process.

Nava led the team in scoring for a third consecutive game with 16 points, while Straley finished with 11.

In the final game before the Christmas holidays, the Hornets put a bow on the opening portion of their season by beating Cranfills Gap 56-47 at home.

Parsons went ballistic from deep, hitting eight 3-pointers en route to a game-high 27 points.

Although the contest was only an eight-point win, the Hornets were in command all the way, leading by at least 19 points at the end of each quarter.

Lometa (10-1, 3-0 district) returns to the court at the three-day Zephyr/Priddy tournament that begins Monday. The Hornets open against Evant at 1:30 p.m.

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The Lady Hornets also traveled to the Cherokee tournament recently and placed third with a 2-1 showing.

Against Sidney in the opening round, Lometa’s varsity girls’ team was led by Maribel Reyes’ teamhigh 18 points in a 47-35 win. Marissa Nichols added 12 to help advance the Lady Hornets to a second round match-up with Richland Springs.

After building a six-point advantage by the end of the first quarter, Richland Springs trimmed the lead to two by halftime, 24-22, before entering the final period trailing 31-30.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Coyotes posted 14 points to claim a 44-41 victory.

Adriana Hernandez finished with a team-high 13 points, followed closely by Reyes’ 11 points.

The loss placed Lometa in the third-place game with Gustine.

Earlier in the season, the Lady Hornets defeated their district rival at home by 10 points.

In Cherokee, it was more of the same.

Lometa claimed a 44-34 victory to earn third place. Reyes scored six of her team-high 13 points in the third quarter when Lometa outscored Cherokee 14-11.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Hornets used some solid defense to limit the opponent to just five points.

Hernandez and Maria Jaso each added 10 points in the victory.

For their second district game of the season, the Lady Hornets traveled to Star and handed the home team a 45-40 loss.

Nichols and Reyes scored 15 points apiece, accounting for twothirds of the team’s offense.

Lometa improved its record to 7-6 overall and 3-0 in district competition by beating the visiting Cranfills Gap varsity 45-22.

The Lady Lions scored just four points in the first quarter and were held scoreless through the remainder of the half as Lometa build a 17-point advantage. By the end of the third, the Lady Hornets were cruising to victory at 39-7.

Reyes led the team with 13 points, including seven in the third period. Nichols added nine points, Sasha Sosa scored eight, and Nayla Rosales finished with five points.

Like the Hornets, the Lady Hornets will play their next game Monday at the Zephyr/Priddy tournament. Tipoff for their first-round game against Zephyr is at noon.

*** Lometa’s junior varsity boys’ team recently won a close game against Gustine, claiming a twopoint victory at 33-31 behind Martin Jaso’s team-high 10 points.

Colt D’Spain added eight points, and Ramiro Hernandez scored seven.

The Lometa Junior High girls’ team lost consecutive games by falling to Cranfills Gap 19-15 and Jonesboro 13-9.

The boys’ teams, however, won both their games against the same schools. The Hornets defeated Cranfills Gap 27-22 and Jonesboro by a margin of 38-27.