Odessa High had its moments Tuesday, but Amarillo Tascosa proved too much for the Lady Bronchos as the Lady Rebels opened the second half of the District 2-6A girls basketball schedule with a 75-33 victory at the OHS Fieldhouse.
Amarillo Tascosa’s Ka’Lia Smith scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Lady Rebels (18-10 overall, 5-1 district) remained tied atop the 2-6A standings with Wolfforth Frenship.
Odessa High (5-22, 0-6) was led by Skylar Herrera with nine points and Amber Escontrias with eight, while Abigail Rodriguez added seven points off the bench.
Odessa High overcame an early 6-0 deficit to get within two points midway through the first quarter, and matched the Lady Rebels basket for basket for half of the third quarter, but Amarillo Tascosa had more than enough to withstand the Lady Bronchos.
Amarillo Tascosa had three other players finish in double figures with Jada Miller scoring 19 points, while Rylee Zimmer had 12 and Alexis Romero had 10.
“We had a game plan for their two bigs (Smith and Tayjanna McGhee),” Odessa High coach Olivia Pyburn said. “They’re really good, the two post players. A lot of credit to them because they’re very well coached and they play very well.
“We got out of our game plan outside of those spurts. When we were sticking with the game plan, it was a close game.”
Herrera scored two quick baskets to get Odessa High within 8-6 with 4:14 to go in the first quarter, but Amarillo Tascosa scored the last 11 points of the period and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Pyburn said while the outcome was not what she wanted, she was pleased with her players’ effort.
“Our girls fought hard tonight,” she said. “The only thing I ask of them each game is to play hard and fight for each other, and that’s what they did. They give me all they’ve got, we just didn’t come out on the winning end tonight.
“We’re going to continue to fight. We’ve still got four games left. It’s not life or death. That’s one reason I love coaching my kids — they continue to fight no matter what.
Amarillo Tascosa coach Betsy Baughman said the Lady Rebels’ defense set the tone, finishing the game with 18 steals.
“Last year when we came over here, we had a very poor game on the road,” Baughman said. “This is our last road game and we’re pretty tired, so I just challenged the girls to play that much better defense.
“I was proud of them because I felt like their defensive effort was much better. We missed some defensive assignments at times, but the effort was there and that’s important this late in the game.
Amarillo Tascosa was making its second trip to Odessa in four days after playing at Permian on Friday. It was the second time this season the Lady Rebels have made back-to-back trips to the Permian Basin.
“I’ve really been proud of them,” Baughman said. “They’re trying to reach small team goals each quarter instead of just focusing on the win.”
AMARILLO TASCOSA (18-10 overall, 5-1 District 3-6A)
Rylee Zimmer 3 6-6 12, Jada Miller 6 6-6 19, Alexis Romero 3 3-4 10, Ka’Lia Smith 12 1-7 25, Cenedee Valdez 1 0-1 2, Montasia Gilbreath 0 0-0 0, Alexis Wall 0 0-0 0, Jessalyn Gonzales 0 0-0 0, Tayjanna McGhee 2 0-0 4, Aubry Nash 1 1-1 3. Totals 28 17-25 75.
ODESSA HIGH (5-22, 0-6)
Roxana Jimenez 1 0-0 2, Aneth Jimenez 1 0-1 2, Elena Brito 1 0-0 2, Amber Escontrias 2 4-4 8, Skylar Herrera 4 0-2 9, Kheeauna Lide 0 0-0 0, Arianna Aguilar 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Garcia 0 0-0 0, Itayla Saenz 0 1-5 1, Melina Escogido 1 0-0 2, Abigail Rodriguez 3 0-0 7, Mariah Sanchez 0 0-0 0, Natalia Garicano 0 0-0 0, Alexis Luna 0 0-0 0, Jaquelin Urquidi 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 5-12 33.
Tascosa……………… 19.. 20 20 16 — 75
Odessa High…………. 6.. 15 7 5 — 33
3-Point goals — Tascosa 2 (Miller 1, Romero 1), Odessa High 2 (Herrera 1, Rodriguez 1). Total fouls — Tascosa 15, Odessa High 16. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — none.
Overall District
Team W L W L
Amarillo Tascosa………… 18 10 5 1
Wolfforth Frenship………… 23 7 5 1
Midland High………………. 20 11 4 2
Midland Lee……………….. 14 14 3 3
Permian……………………… 11 14 1 5
Odessa High………………… 5 22 0 6
Tuesday, Jan. 23
Amarillo Tascosa 75, Odessa High 33
Midland Lee 50, Permian 30
Wolfforth Frenship 58, Midland High 42
Friday, Jan. 26
Wolfforth Frenship at Odessa High, 6 p.m.
Permian at Midland High, 6 p.m.
Midland Lee at Amarillo Tascosa, 6 p.m.
