In control most of the game, the Lady Bronchos did just that.
Withstanding one final push by the visiting Lady Dawgs, Odessa High held on for a 60-52 victory Tuesday at the OHS Fieldhouse.
Odessa High (6-7 overall, 0-1 District 2-6A) held a 17-point lead lead after the third quarter, then watched that cushion evaporate as Midland High (5-8, 0-1) went on a 15-2 run in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter to pull within four points, 54-50.
“I told the kids that we have to win the first four minutes and the last four minutes of the second half,” Odessa High head coach Marcus Chapa said. “We struggled on winning the last four minutes of this game and that’s why they were able to get close. We have things to work on and it is what is but a W is a W in district.”
Chapa credited his team for playing and executing well and the duo of Nesha Stephens and Deoshanay Henderson played a key part of that.
Stephens scored two of the final three baskets for the Lady Bronchos as part of her game-high 21 points while Henderson added 16 points.
Samantha Braudaway and Makayla Williams led Midland High with 17 and nine points, respectively.
The game started off as a see-saw battle with Odessa High jumping out to an 8-3 lead before Midland High responded with a trio of 3-pointers to take a 12-10 lead.
That’s when the Odessa High defensive pressure started picking up and the Lady Bronchos answered with an 11-0 run to end the first quarter with a 21-12 advantage.
The Lady Bronchos continued to score nto the second quarter, extending the lead to as many as 14 points before taking a 34-22 lead into halftime.
Midland High cut the lead back to nine points midway through the third quarter before Odessa High pushed further ahead with a 13-5 run to take its largest lead of the game entering the final eight minutes.
The Lady Dawgs made their run early in the fourth quarter, scoring the first eight points before a Henderson jump shot with 6:05 to go ended the Lady Bronchos’ scoring drought.
Midland High got within four points twice in the closing minutes before a 6-2 run from the Lady Bronchos ended any comeback hopes.
“I think our team finally had that confidence in them and realized that we belong here and we can play with them,” Midland High coach Edi DeLucas said. “We’ve seen presses leading up to district and they realized they can handle the ball pressure. We just didn’t execute in the first, second and third quarter.”
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