For a couple weeks, the Odessa College women's basketball team has been able to overcome slow starts.

That wasn't the case Thursday as No. 5 New Mexico Junior College jumped on the No. 1 Lady Wranglers and held on late to hand the top-ranked junior college team its first loss, 74-71, at the OC Sports Center.

"It wasn't good enough at the beginning," Odessa College head coach Ara Baten said. "I was proud of the way they came back and I thought we gave ourselves an opportunity at the end of the game.

"It's all we could ask after digging a whole like that against such a good team. Hopefully, we'll learn from it."

New Mexico JC kept the pressure on in the third quarter, expanding the lead to as many as 19 points before a pair of 3-pointers by Mariah McCully late in the quarter kept Odessa College within striking distance.

The Lady Wranglers continue their comeback attempt into the fourth quarter and got as close as a point in the final minute.

Odessa College had the ball trailing by one, but a traveling call on Leticia Soares gave possession back to the Lady Thunderbirds with 12 seconds to play.

New Mexico JC guard Ashley Perez pushed the lead to three with seven seconds left after a pair of free throws for her only points of the game, but the Lady Wranglers had a final shot to force overtime. McCully's 3-point try came up short as time expired as Odessa College had its 19-game winning streak snapped.

The Lady Thunderbirds (18-4, 7-1 WJCAC) came out with more energy from the opening tip and that was most apparent in the rebounding department where they held a 45-24 advantage. New Mexico JC was particularly effective on the offensive glass, where the it corralled 21 of its own misses.

"Without question, they dominated us on the glass," said Baten, whose team was the final unbeaten squad remaining in the NJCAA rankings prior to the loss. "There's not much else I can say. They dominated."

Lady Thunderbirds head coach Drew Sanders said rebounding was a focus coming into the game after the Lady Wranglers controlled that aspect the first time the teams met in an Odessa College victory on Nov. 30, 2016, in Hobbs, N.M.

"We got outrebounded so bad when they played us out there. It was one of those where for three quarters, Odessa didn't play like Odessa," Sanders said. "In the fourth quarter, we saw Odessa and we didn't get those rebounds in the fourth."

Odessa College (19-1, 7-1) fell behind 9-2 in the opening minutes, prompting an early timeout. The Lady Wranglers would trim the Lady Thunderbirds' lead to four or five points on a couple of occasions in the second quarter, but New Mexico JC had a late run to take a 38-28 lead at halftime.

Chinna Fair finished with a game-high 27 points for the Lady Wranglers in the loss. Fair went 7 of 11 from the field and 4 of 7 from 3-point range while hitting all nine of her free throw attempts.

McCully added another 18 in the loss for Odessa College.

Laurynn McGowen led a balanced attack for the Lady Thunderbirds with 20 points off the bench. Alarie Mayz finished with 18 points for New Mexico JC, while Daiane Machado added 13 and Dezirae Hampton added 11.

The two teams now sit tied atop the WJCAC standings with No. 8 South Plains sitting in third a game and a half back at 5-2.

The Lady Wranglers will look to bounce back next week when they host South Plains on Thursday.

Article by Joshua Perry OA