By Bobby Allen

SDN Sports Editor

For some of the younger Lady Tigers, this was just the latest in a string of victories that grow less surprising each week.

For senior Erin Burleson, however, Friday night saw the payoff for three years of toil.

The Lady Tigers claimed their 24th consecutive game and hoisted the district trophy on their home floor after completing the season sweep of 2003 district champion Lamesa, 50-34.

“This is huge,” an emotional Burleson, who scored 12 points, grabbed four steals and pulled down three boards, said. “I’ve waited a long time for this. It was good to hold up that trophy, and it feels so good to do it in front of Lamesa.”

Snyder (26-2, 9-0) used a 16-0 run over an eight-minute stretch in the first half, breaking an early 7-7 tie to open up a double-digit lead that held up.

Head coach Mike Martin said the scoring run was the difference, and it bodes well for the team with postseason play looming on the horizon.

“It was a good sign for us. We hit our free throws down the stretch and played good defense throughout the game,” he said. “Our offense was still sporadic, but it was better than it had been.”

Terann Ragland scored 14 points, including a jump shot at the end of the first half to give the Lady Tigers a 14-point lead going into the locker room.

Sirena Medrano added 10 points, going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and collecting six offensive rebounds.

Sequoya Powell and Sarah Henson each grabbed four rebounds, and scored five and four points, respectively. Powell also swiped three steals.

Senior Dominique Braziel hit the final shot of the game for her two points, while Emily Jones got on the scoreboard with a fourth-quarter field goal. Teddi Crenwelge hit a free throw in the win, and Jordan Stansell collected seven boards and one steal.

Ragland, who also hauled in three boards and recorded four steals, said the team is not looking ahead to the playoffs, as it has one more piece of unfinished business -- finishing the district undefeated.

She also had praise for Lamesa, which continued to fight long after the game was decided, particularly Ashley Hunter, who paced Lamesa with 13 points.

“Hunter played well, but we did a decent job on offense and played tough on defense,” she said. Ragland also there is nothing else in her field of view except Merkel. “We just want to do the best we can with our next opponent.”

Martin said he has no concern with this club getting ahead of itself with the regular season capper with Merkel Tuesday, the last regular season hurdle.

“With this bunch, it’s so new to us and they truly take it one game at a time,” he said. “They are not looking ahead. They want to finish the district undefeated.”

Burleson said the season -- which started out shaky at Littlefield and has taken on an epic feel with each successive win -- has been as unexpected as it is thrilling as the Lady Tigers have gelled together.

“It’s blown away my expectations. This is a great team to play with. We play well together, and every win is a team effort. We have no heroes on this team”

She also sang the praises of Martin, who helped guide the Lady Tigers to their first district crown in 24 years.

“I have so much respect for him -- he’s the best coach I could play for,” she said. “I love everything about the way he coaches. It was tough, but it paid off. If I could go back and do it over, I would do it the exact same way.”

The junior varsity girls also topped Lamesa, 42-38.

The Lady Tigers close out the season at 6:30 Tuesday at Merkel.