The Odessa College women's basketball team has found its rhythm against Eastern Arizona College.

For the second time in five days, the Lady Wranglers defeated the No. 13 Lady Gila Monsters, taking a first-round matchup 73-64 at Midland College's National Invitational Tournament on Thursday at the Chaparral Center.

Odessa College (6-0) withstood a pair of Eastern Arizona runs, in the first and third quarters, to maintain control throughout most of the contest.

"We hit a few shots and the kids did a good job," Odessa College head coach Ara Baten said. "I thought we defended at times very well and we're getting better in our offensive execution. These kids made some plays today."

The Lady Wranglers dominated in the rebounding department, winning of the battle of the boards 50-32. Odessa College also used a 22-7 advantage on the offensive glass to dominate in second-chance scoring 20-6.

"That's something the girls made a commitment to, because it's kind of been an Achilles' heel of ours," Baten said of his team's rebounding. "They made a concentrated effort to do a better job and hopefully we can continue to do that."

The Lady Wranglers scored the first six points of the contest, but the Lady Gila Monsters (1-2) bounced back with nine straight points of their own. Odessa College responded to take a 19-13 lead after the opening quarter.

Odessa College held that lead throughout the second quarter to take a 32-25 at halftime.

Eastern Arizona came out of the locker room with a newfound energy and used a 10-2 run to take a one-point lead in the third quarter, but again, the Lady Wranglers were up to the challenge, using a 19-6 run of their own to push the lead into double digits.

Odessa College led by as many as 15 points in the final quarter, putting the game away with a Chinna Fair 3-pointer in the final two minutes.

Fair struggled with her shot in the first half, missing all five 3-point tries, but scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to lead the Lady Wranglers.

"We just worked hard. We knew it was going to be a tough game after playing them last week," Fair said. "I just had to attack and keep shooting and eventually they started to fall."

Seven Odessa College players grabbed at least four rebounds in the victory, led by nine from Brazilian post player Leticia Soares.

Tania Pierre-Emile had a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds in the loss for the Lady Gila Monsters. Veronica Preciado added another 14 points for Eastern Arizona.

Odessa College will be back in action at 5 p.m. today at the Chaparral Center against sixth-ranked Salt Lake Community College. SLCC won its opening game against No. 25 Iowa Western 55-40 to advance to the semifinals.

"They're very, very solid and incredibly well coached," Baten said of the Lady Bruins. "Those kids don't make mistakes and don't beat themselves. They handle pressure and shoot it well. Just a solid basketball team."

Article by Joshua Perry OA