Jan. 6—The No. 15-ranked Odessa College women’s basketball team found the perfect way to recover.
And what better way to do that than at the start Western Junior College Athletic Conference play?
The Lady Wranglers, coming off consecutive losses from last week to Panola College and Tyler Junior College, began WJCAC action with a 76-63 win against rival Midland College Monday at the OC Sports Center.
With the win, the Lady Wranglers improved to 10-4 overall, 1-0 in WJCAC while the Lady Chaps fell to 11-5, 0-1.
“We still have a long ways to go,” Odessa College head coach Franqua Bedell said. “We still have a lot of things that we need to work on. But I was pleased that they bounced back. At this time of the season, we have to be getting better than what we’ve been doing. We found a way to win the game at the end of the day.”
The Lady Wranglers were led in scoring by Jaedyn Cook’s 18 points while Shakira Brown had 15 and Caitlin Staley had 12.
As a team, Odessa College went 31-of-65 from the floor, 7-of-21 on 3-pointers and 7-11 on free throws.
Midland College was led by Dee Henderson’s 20 points while Toyah Montgomery had 13 and Endija Sedlina had 10.
The Lady Chaps shot 21-of-55 from the field, 4-of-13 on 3-pointers and 17-of-22 on free throws.
Odessa College jumped out to an 11-7 lead in the first quarter.
The Lady Wranglers’ lead was 16-7 at the end of the quarter.
Odessa College built its lead to 22-12 in the second quarter.
A jump shot by Henderson brought the Lady Chaps to a 24-17 deficit.
However, a layup by Staley and a free throw from a foul gave the Lady Wranglers a 10-point lead.
Odessa College continued its run and built a 31-17 lead with 4:37 left.
Janna Dauer ended the Lady Chaps’ scoring drought with her inside field goal shortly after.
A 3-pointer by Wheeler gave the Lady Wranglers a 35-24 lead with under a minute to go.
The hosts’ lead was 35-26 at the half.
The Lady Chaps managed to cut at Odessa College’s lead, pulling to a 42-40 deficit in the third quarter.
The Lady Wranglers managed to stay in front and took a 55-48 lead.
Dauer’s basket brought the visitors to a 55-50 deficit.
Juliet Esomchukwu’s 3-pointer made it 60-50 with 17 seconds left.
Brown ended the third quarter on a high note for the Lady Wranglers with her long-range 3-pointer at the buzzer as Odessa College took a 63-52 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Lady Wranglers carried their momentum into the quarter as Wheeler scored off a transition layup to make it a 13-point lead and the Lady Chaps called a timeout.
“The momentum was crucial in how we played,” Bedell said. “We had the momentum and the mojo on our side. It helped us set the tone. The first five minutes of that fourth quarter set us apart.”
Staley’s layup made it 69-54 with 7:12 left.
Odessa College took a comfortable 74-61 lead as the clock started to wind down.
The Lady Wranglers will next face Frank Phillips College at 5:45 p.m. Thursday in Borger.
Midland College will next face Howard College at 5:45 p.m. Thursday at the Chaparral Center in Midland.
