College basketball: Lady Wranglers pull out triple-overtime victory

MIDLAND Kiaherra Powell made good use of her time on the court Saturday.

The freshman center from Chicago played by far the fewest minutes for the Odessa College women’s basketball team as it outlasted Cochise College 96-92 in triple overtime.

But she also seized her opportunity in a big spot by scoring the first two Lady Wranglers baskets in the third overtime to help pull out the opening game of Midland College’s Thanksgiving Classic in the Chaparral Center.

“I was just focused on my team getting a win, even if I didn’t finish the game,” Powell said. “I was ready. You’ve got to be prepared and just make sure you’re going to be ready. I was just glad we got the win.”

Powell played just 12 minutes, 39 seconds, of the contest and sat out much of the second half and all of the first two overtime periods.

OC head coach Ara Baten inserted the freshman for the start of the third overtime and she scored on a putback for an 87-85 lead. Powell then scored on a putback of her own miss for an 89-88 lead and the Lady Wranglers (11-0) never trailed again.

“Kiaherra’s deal is a dumb coaching move,” Baten said. “I should’ve got her in there a lot earlier than I did. She came in that last overtime and was the difference for us. She did a great job for us and honestly was the difference.”

Powell finished with eight points, including four in the third overtime alone, though she wasn’t the only OC player to pull through in a big moment.

Just to get to the third overtime, Lady Wranglers freshman forward Towanda Sutton scored on a tough layup under the basket with just two seconds left in the second overtime for an 85-85 tie.

After Powell’s two baskets opened the scoring in the third extra period, Smiljana Cuk scored on a putback for a 91-88 lead — one of her three field goals in the game — and Ali Bills shook off a cold offensive outing by scoring consecutive layups to keep Odessa College in the lead.

Bills finished with 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting, though the two late baskets helped make the difference.

“I learned they’re not going to give up,” Baten said. “When things are going against them and they’re not playing well and the other team’s playing well, they’re going to find a way to keep playing. That’s all we can ever ask.

“At the end of the day, that’s what we want — to learn if the kids are going to play hard and stay with it no matter what the score is.”

Cochise (1-7) led most of the game by making 13 3-point goals, including four each by Mieke Elkington — who scored a game-high 21 points — and Nicole Ramos. Cochise’s biggest lead was 52-41 with just less than 13 minutes left in regulation after a 3-pointer by Elkington.

The Lady Apaches might’ve been able to close out the game with a better effort than its 13-of-24 showing at the free-throw line. They also couldn’t muster a shot with the last possession of regulation with the score tied 66-66 and the last possession with the score tied 75-75 at the end of the first overtime.

Cochise then couldn’t respond after Sutton’s basket that tied the game 85-85 with time almost expired at the end of the second overtime.

Judith Tabla shook off a few bad misses to lead Odessa College with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Sutton added 18 points and eight rebounds, Brittany Pennell had 14 points before fouling out and Chantelle Brockett scored 13 points.

The Lady Wranglers also made the most of their opportunities at the free-throw line with a 20-of-25 performance.

“I thought we played with a little more urgency when we got shot,” Baten said. “We hit a few shots and they missed a few, but Cochise played awfully well and we’re fortunate. Both teams played really hard and got after each other and played pretty even. It was just a good basketball game.”

>> Odessa College 96, Cochise College 92 (3OT) 

Midland College Thanksgiving Classic

At Chaparral Center, Midland

ODESSA COLLEGE (11-0)

Judith Tabala 9 3-3 21, Jeserica Murray 1 1-2 3, Ali Bills 4 2-2 10, Chantelle Brockett 4 5-6 13, Towanda Sutton 7 4-4 18, Brittany Pennell 5 2-4 14, Smiljana Cuk 3 3-4 9, Kiaherra Powell 4 0-0 8. Totals 37 20-25 96.

COCHISE COLLEGE (1-7)

Edthel Lugo 2 0-0 5, Sylwia Janas 1 0-0 2, Mieke Elkington 8 1-5 21, Nicole Ramos 5 2-2 16, Erica Sowers 1 2-5 4, Britteny Brown 6 3-4 17, Quintina Aday 0 0-0 0, Vianca Villegas 4 3-4 13, Zelenia Pellat 4 0-0 8, Jasmine Arias 2 2-4 6. Totals 33 13-24 92.

Halftime — Cochise 39, OC 32. Regulation — Cochise 66, OC 66. First overtime — Cochise 75, OC 75. Second overtime — Cochise 85, OC 85. 3-Point goals — OC 2 (Pennell 2), Cochise 13 (Lugo 1, Elkington 4, Ramos 4, Brown 2, Villegas 2). Total fouls — OC 23, Cochise 23. Fouled out — OC: Pennell. Rebounds — OC 54 (Tabala 15), Cochise 46 (Villegas 8). Assists — OC 13 (Sutton 4), Cochise 21 (Sowers 7).