ARTICLE BY MICHAEL BAUER: ODESSA AMERICAN

Even though South Plains College is having an unusually difficult season, that didn't stop the Lady Texans from keeping things close against Odessa College.

At least for the first half.

The Odessa College women's basketball team pushed its current winning streak to four games as the Lady Wranglers defeated South Plains College in a 74-63 win Thursday at the OC Sports Center in conference play.

The Lady Texans (10-12 overall, 3-3) gave the Lady Wranglers a run in the first half as No. 14-ranked Odessa College (20-3, 6-1) only led 21-20 at the end of the first quarter and 38-34 at the half.

However, Odessa College used a strong third quarter, outscoring South Plains College 19-11 to help pull away from the Lady Texans.

"It was a battle," Odessa College head coach Franqua Bedell said. "We knew it would be. South Plains College is getting better each game. We had to make some adjustments in the second half but I felt like we also executed better in the second half."

Odessa College was led in scoring by Destinee Barnes' 14 points while Tia Shelling had 11. Mieria Mustaros and Sarengbe Sanogo each had nine for the Lady Wranglers.

South Plains College was led in scoring by Yendrie Acosta's 18 points while Bella belong and Dabria Blackwell each had 10.

"Odessa College has a really good basketball team," South Plains College head coach Ara Baten said. "They're very impressive. They made some plays and we turned the ball over. They're a good team."

The Lady Wranglers remain in second in the WJCAC standings with New Mexico Junior College (17-4, 6-0) still in first place.

Odessa College's only loss in conference play was against New Mexico Junior College on Jan. 15.

Both teams kept things close in the first quarter as South Plains College took an 18-16 lead with 1:54 remaining on the clock off a pair of free throws. The Lady Wranglers took a 21-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Odessa College used a 4-2 run to begin the second quarter as a layup by Sanogo made it 25-22 with 7:31 on the clock.

A jump shot by South Plains College's Jennifer Silva brought the Lady Texans to a 31-30 deficit with 4:13 remaining.

Free throws by Tia Shelling and Destinee Barnes gave the Lady Wranglers a 38-34 halftime lead.

Odessa College began the third quarter with a layup by Chelsy Bautista to extend the Lady Wranglers' lead.

A layup by Sanogo gave the Lady Wranglers a 44-34 lead with 6:49 remaining.

After Aisha Amaral Dos Santos' 3-pointer, Odessa College had a 12-point lead with 3:27 left.

The Lady Wranglers went into the fourth quarter carrying a 57-45 lead.

Odessa College continued to extend its lead as a layup by Sanogo made it 71-54 with 3:08 left in the game.

A 3-pointer by South Plains' Yendrie Acosta was one of the few highlights for the visitors in the fourth quarter as the Lady Texans' deficit was still 71-57 with under two minutes to go.

South Plains College will next face Midland College at 5:45 p.m. Monday at the Chaparral Center in Midland.

Odessa College will also face rivals Midland College in its next game at 5:45 p.m. Feb. 8 at the OC Sports Center.

Thursday's win over South Plains College wrapped up the first half of WJCAC play for the Lady Wranglers.

"I'm proud of us," Bedell said. "We've made a huge step up from last year. We just need to keep going and keep fighting and pay attention to detail."

Both Odessa College and South Plains College will next face each other on March 4 at the Texan Dome in Levelland to close out the regular season.