National Champions!

After coming close to claiming the NJCAA Division I women’s basketball national championship a year ago, there was never any doubt about the Odessa College Lady Wranglers’ goal for this season.

Despite losing their preseason No. 1 ranking along the way, the Lady Wranglers reached their goal March 24 with a 73-50 victory over Central Arizona College in the national championship game at Salina, Kan., capping a 32-2 campaign.

The national title was Odessa College’s third in women’s basketball, following crowns in 1986 and 1991, and the school’s 46th national championship in 11 different sports.

Head coach Nate Altenhofen combined four returning players from last year — Chandrea Jones, Lade’sha Stoudemire, Dina Pinterniece and Tamara Rogers — with transfers Juanita Ward, Jackie Thiel and Agnija Reke and freshmen Trivonne Senegal, Whitney Davis and Kelsey Wasmer to form the best team in the nation.

Jones led the team in scoring and was named MVP of the national tournament, while Ward and Stoudemire also earned all-tournament honors.

Both of the Lady Wranglers’ only two losses were to Western Junior College Athletic Conference rival South Plains College, both at the Texan Dome in Levelland. OC won the last two meetings between the teams, handing then-No. 1 South Plains its first loss of the season on Feb. 19 and winning again in the finals of the NJCAA Region 5 Tournament.

Odessa College closed the year on an 18-game winning streak. Four of the last five wins came against teams ranked in the top 10 of the final NJCAA national poll.

Over the past two seasons, OC has gone 66-3, winning 23 consecutive home games.