College basketball: Lady Wranglers roll past Ranger in season opener

In a dominating season-opening win, Odessa College women’s basketball head coach Ara Baten chose to balance his praise with constructive criticism.

Examining the statistics from the Lady Wranglers’ 83-58 season-opening rout of Ranger College at the OC Sports Center, his analysis could not be found on the single sheet of white paper.

“It was about where you think you’d be at this point,” Baten said. “Some good, some bad. It’s a starting point.”

In that sheet of paper, there was far more good than bad.

Such as the game-high 18 points from sophomore forward Judith Tabala.

At 6-foot-6, Tabala has the potential to be a top player for OC, and although she was part of an overall size advantage by the Lady Wranglers, her game looked sharper than last year. In shooting 9-of-14 from the field, many were short turnaround jumpers, the decision time from receiving the ball to shooting it much shorter than last year.

“I just have to be confident,” Tabala said. “That’s all my coaches keep telling me.”

Tabala also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, part of a 54-40 advantage on the glass for OC. That helped the Lady Wranglers get 15 second-chance points, compared to the Lady Rangers’ four.

It was one of many statistical advantages for the Lady Wranglers.

Another was shooting percentage. OC shot 44.1 percent, Ranger College at 33.3 percent. The Lady Wranglers’ 50-percent mark in the second half helped increase their lead, which at halftime stood at 35-26.

Baten said one of the positives was the Lady Wranglers’ crisp use of offensive sets. More of a points-in-transition team in Baten’s first two years as head coach, OC slowed it down against Ranger College and distributed the ball.

Eleven of the 12 Lady Wranglers who played scored, including sophomore forward Tammie Thornton, who used two 3-pointers en route to 10 points.

Leading 50-42 at the 13:30 mark in the second half, OC went on a 12-0 scoring run to put it away.

In that stretch, “things clicked,” Baten said. “We had some transition opportunities and got a couple of stops. But overall, very inconsistent. We gotta find a way to be more consistent.”

Thus began Baten’s list of things to work on.

It included better defense and a desire to “play at a higher level intensity-wise for more minutes,” he said.

In some moments, Baten said, those away from the ball weren’t active, and on defense their knees weren’t bent.

Small things. Some good, some bad.

>> Odessa College 83, Ranger College 58 

RANGER COLLEGE (0-1)

Julisia Denton 1-8 2-2 5, Bryanna Green 1-5 0-0 3, Zakeshia Brock 1-1 0-1 2, Tricie Leno-Tillis 4-8 0-0 8, Adriene Davis 5-18 1-4 14, Deatrice Palmer 3-10 2-2 8, Ta’Neil Lewis 4-7 4-5 12, Kayla McCray 1-3 0-1 2. Totals 21-63 11-20 58.

ODESSA COLLEGE (1-0)

Takoia Larry 2-6 1-2 7; Judith Tabala 9-14 0-2 18, Shon Redmond 2-6 2-3 7, Jeserica Murry 0-1 2-2 2, Bristen Creech 0-1 0-0 0, Ali Bills 3-7 1-2 7, Carlo Wade 1-3 0-0 3, Towanda Sutton 1-4 2-4 4, Chantelle Brockett 2-4 1-2 5, Brittany Pennell 3-7 0-0 6, Tammie Thornton 3-6 2-3 10, Smiljana Cuk 2-6 5-9 9, Kiaherra Powell 2-3 1-2 5. Totals 30-68 17-31 83.

Halftime — Odessa College 35, Ranger College 26. 3-Point goals — Ranger College 5-14 (Julisia Denton 1-3, Bryana Green 1-3, Tricie Leno-Tillis 0-1, Adriene Davis 3-6, Deatrice Palmer 0-1); Odessa College 6-17 (Takoia Larry 2-4, Shon Redmond 1-2, Ali Bills 0-3, Carlo Wade 1-2, Brittany Pennell 0-3, Tammie Thornton 2-2, Smiljana Cuk 0-1). Total fouls — Ranger College 24, Odessa College 20. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None. Rebounds — Ranger College 40 (Kayla McCray 5); Odessa College 54 (Judith Tabala 8). Assists — Ranger College 11 (Julisia Denton 4, Zakeshia Brock 4); Odessa College 18 (Shon Redmond 7).