PURCELL – Top-ranked Bethany dominated fellow Class 4A power and fourth-ranked Anadarko, 64-32, Saturday night (Jan. 20) to win the Heart of Oklahoma Basketball Tournament.

Bethany (12-4) sprinted out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, something that Bethany coach Eric Sailer appreciated, remembering his first few games in years past against the Lady Warriors.

“I can remember in one of our games at Anadarko, I used all my timeouts in the first quarter because they were just so powerful and massive,” Sailer said. “It was kind of good to be able to flip the script.”

Bethany junior Keziah Lofton scored 15 of her 25 points in the first half. When Lofton wasn’t getting buckets, she was getting to the free throw line, hitting 6-of-7 from the stripe.

Senior Zya Vann added 17 points as Anadarko (15-3) struggled to contain the duo.

“Those two guards, they go side by side, hand in hand,”Sailer said of Lofton and Vann. “When they’re playing fast and moving the ball, that’s when we’re at our best. Their defensive presence, being able to get touches on balls in our transition, on our full court press. is pretty phenomenal.”

Vann, who averaged 21 points a game in the tournament was named the tournament’s “Most Valuable Player.” Lofton, who averaged 16 points a contest in the tournament, was named to the All-Tournament team.

With the game well in hand late in the fourth quarter, Sailer was able to play his reserves.

“Those girls sometimes get overlooked, but they’re just as important as those starters,” Sailer said.

Junior guard Lauren Koonce fired up the Bethany bench with a wraparound pass for an assist and Sailer called timeout to celebrate.

“Those girls needed to be congratulated,” Sailer said. “Those girls needed to have high fives given to ’em, so we’re super excited for them.”

Bethany had seven players score. Juniors Kayten Donley and Talia Vann each scored seven points in the win.

The tournament title capped off a busy stretch of basketball and travel for the Lady Bronchos, who played in MLK Classic in Washington, D.C. against national powers last weekend.

” (Playing tough opponents) just prepares us even more,” Lofton said. “We don’t get to play great competition all the time, so when we do, it’s really good for us.

After their games, the team was unable to fly home due to winter weather.

“Honestly, I had a lot of fun,” Vann said. “Even getting stuck in D. C., that was a lot of fun.”

UP NEXT: Bethany has a short break, traveling to Elk City Friday (Jan. 26) for a Western Conference matchup. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Anadarko	7	6	9	10	32
Bethany	20	17	12	15	64