No. 11 Odessa WBB Defeats No. 5 T-Birds in OT
No. 11 Odessa College defeated No. 5 NMJC by the closest of margins, 90-89, in overtime Thursday evening. Forward Pania Davis had a chance to win it with 0.8 seconds to go, but she was unable to get the tip in to fall as the buzzer sounded.
Odessa's press and defensive pressure in the first half overwhelmed the T-Birds toward the end of the second quarter. In the final 5:35 of the quarter, the Wranglers outscored NMJC 12-4 to take a 10-point lead, 37-27.
The T-Birds woke up in the third quarter. Amyah Sutton went off for the Thunderbirds scoring 10 of her 16 points in the quarter including four straight buckets to pull the T-Birds within one point, 52-51, with 4:43 to go in the quarter. The Thunderbirds ended the third with a three-point advantage over the Wranglers 60-57.
The start of the fourth quarter went the way of the T-Birds. A Davis free throw pushed the Thunderbird lead up to nine points, 72-63, with 6:40 to go in the game. Odessa subsequently went on a 11-3 run over the next 2:20 to come within one point, 75-74. Wrangler guard Tia Shelling gave Odessa back the lead, 82-81, on a jumper with 1:36 remaining.
T-Bird guard Cacia Antonio tied the score up at 83 apiece with 27 seconds to play. Odessa had the final shot and missed off iron as time expired sending the game to overtime.
Cacia Antonio finished with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while grabbing eight boards. Pania Davis recorded 15 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks.
Filipa Calisto registered a double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Nuria Estrade was the leading scorer off the bench with eight.
The Thunderbirds shot 36-for-70 (51.4%) from the field, 4-of-12 (33.3%) from beyond the arc, and 13-of-19 (68.4%) from the charity stripe. NMJC held the Wranglers to 45.1% from the field.
No. 5 NMJC slips to 20-5 (9-1) on the year and will face Howard College in Hobbs, NM Monday, Feb. 19 at 5:45 p.m. MST.
The T-Birds (9-1) are now tied in first place with Odessa (9-1) in the WJCAC standings.
