ARTICLE BY MICHAEL BAUER: ODESSA AMERICAN

The Odessa College women's basketball team didn't have any trouble in its conference opener as the 15th-ranked Lady Wranglers cruised to a 97-54 win over Midland College Monday at the Chaparral Center.

Playing against their rivals, Odessa College extended its winning streak to 14 games, improving to 15-2 overall, 1-0 in WJCAC.

"Tonight's win sets the tone in the conference," Odessa College head coach Franqua Bedell said. "This team has accomplished a lot and hasn't gotten the respect that they deserve, but at the same time, we have to go prove it night in and night out. It's a big win to come into anybody's house in this league and walk out with a win. It's even bigger when you can dominate.

The Lady Chaps fell to 9-6, 0-1.

"Odessa College just outcompeted us," Midland College head coach Ron Jones said. "It wasn't even close. They played so much harder than we did and they deserved to win the game. They played a lot harder and a lot more aggressive than we did."

Odessa College was led in scoring by Ivana Krajina's 28 points as she went 11-18 on field goals, 1-2 on 3-pointers and 5-5 on free throws while Chelsy Bautista had 22 points, going 9-14 on field goals, 1-2 on 3-pointers and 3-5 on free throws.

The Lady Wranglers went 37-65 (56.9 percent) on field goals and was 6-12 on 3-pointers while going 17-26 on free throws.

Midland College was led by Luisa Anderegg's 17 points as she went 8-12 on field goals, 1-2 on 3-pointers and 0-1 from the line.

Endija Sedlina had 10 points, going 4-7 from inside the arc and 2-3 on 3-pointers.

As a team, the Lady Chaps went 21-57 on field goals, 8-30 on 3-pointers and 6-11 on free throws.

Coming off an easy 103-54 win over Weatherford College last Friday, the Lady Wranglers continued right where they left off, taking control early and never trailing against the Lady Chaps.

Odessa College's lead was only 18-11 at the end of the first quarter.

However, after a dominating second quarter in which the Lady Wranglers used a 36-11 run, the game was out of reach for Midland College.

Odessa College hasn't lost a game since before Veteran's Day which came in a 61-56 loss to Cochise College back on Nov. 10.

The Lady Wranglers started things off with an 8-0 run early in the first quarter.

It was 12-5 by the first media timeout with 4:37 left.

Layups from Chelsy Bautista and Sarengbe Sonogo gave Odessa College a 16-11 lead with 1:40 remaining.

A transition basket by Destinee Barnes soon followed and the Lady Wranglers led 18-11 at the end of the opening quarter.

Tia Shelling began the second quarter with an inside jumper before Midland College's Brianna Vargas scored from 3-point land.

However, a quick 6-0 run by the Lady Wranglers put them at a 26-14 advantage with 8:11 on the clock.

Bautista soon made it 30-14, scoring consecutive buckets and the Lady Chaps called a timeout with 6:06 left before halftime.

Shots continued to fall through for the Lady Wranglers and a 5-0 run by Bautista (consisting of an inside jumper and a 3-pointer) made it 45-17 with 2:15 remaining.

Ending the first half on a commanding note, Ivana Krajina's buzzer-beater gave the Lady Wranglers a 54-22 lead at the half.

Aisha Amaral Dos Santos scored off the backboard to put the Lady Wranglers at a 65-29 lead with 5:08 left in the third quarter.

The Lady Wranglers came out of the media timeout where baskets by Shelling and Juliet Escomchukwu made it 69-31.

Odessa College will next face Frank Phillips College at 5:45 p.m. Thursday at the OC Sports Center.