The Permian and Odessa High girls basketball teams shook off the holiday rust during a three-day tournament Dec. 27-29 in Monahans.
Both fared well, with the Lady Panthers winning five of six games, while the Lady Bronchos went 5-0.
So when the rivals met Friday in the District 2-6A opener, it was anyone’s ball game.
Until the basketball was thrown in the air for the opening tip.
Odessa High raced to an 18-point lead in the first five minutes of the game and never looked back in a 54-19 rout at the OHS Fieldhouse.
Paige Byford scored a game-high 14 points to lead the Lady Bronchos (15-11 overall, 1-0 in district), with Biyyanah Ellis finishing with 12 and Deoshanay Henderson 11 in the victory.
Kimora Pierce scored nine points to lead the Lady Panthers (10-7, 0-1).
“We did what we what we wanted to do, which was to interrupt their flow of the game,” Odessa High head coach Sherman Chew said. “That’s what defense does.
“I’m one of those coaches that every timeout we talk defense; that’s what wins games. They are kind of used to that now.”
Odessa High’s Zenaida Ibarra opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Byford connected on a free throw, as did Donajah Watkins before Henderson hit a 3-pointer from the left wing for a quick 8-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest.
Micah Smith put Permian on the scoreboard with a free throw, but the Lady Bronchos answered with an 11-0 run that pushed their lead to 19-1, before Smith made a pair of free throws.
She finished 5-of-6 from the line on the night.
The Lady Bronchos’ defense was stout enough that the Lady Panthers did not score a field goal in the first 17:32 of the game.
“They hit shots early and it seemed like it just snowballed from there,” Permian head coach Michael Ellis said. “We had a good game plan; I think maybe nerves got the best of us.
“In the early timeouts, we talked about getting back and playing our style of basketball, taking our shots and playing our defense. I don’t know that we ever really got too comfortable with it but we tried to get back to it.”
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Odessa High 54, Permian 19
Friday, OHS Fieldhouse
PERMIAN (10-7 overall, 0-1 District 2-6A)
TI asia Pryor 0 0-0 0, Caytlen Juarez 0 0-0 0, Micah Smith 0 6-8 6, Bailey Wight 1 0-0 2, Briseyda Sanchez 0 0-0 0, Nadia Turner 0 0-0 0, Akiva Brown 0 0-0 0, Dagmar Ortega 0 0-0 0, Kimora Pierce 3 3-3 9, Chloe Mosley 1 0-0 2. Totals 5 9-11 19.
ODESSA HIGH (15-11, 1-0)
Aaryn Lara 0 0-0 0, Donajah Watkins 3 1-4 7, Zenaida Ibarra 3 0-0 8, Kiarra Maxwell 0 2-2 2, Mariah Leyva 0 0-0 0, Cloe Navarro 0 0-0 0, Jadah Briones 0 0-0 0, Biyyanah Ellis 3 4-7 12, Paige Byford 5 3-6 14, Deoshanay Henderson 5 0-0 11, Alexis Escontrias 0 0-0 0, Julissa Parra 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-19 54.
Odessa High…………………. 3 — 4 — 8 — 4 — 19
Permian…..………………….. 20 — 16 — 11 — 7 — 54
3-Point goals — Odessa High 6 (Ibarra 2, Ellis 2, Byford 1, Henderson 1). Total fouls — Permian 13, Odessa High 9. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None. JV — Odessa High 35, Permian 29.
