GIRLS BASKETBALL: Odessa High stalled by overwhelming Wolfforth Frenship defense

Wolfforth Frenship put the clamps down in the second quarter, and Odessa High never managed to break the bind.

The Odessa High girls basketball team hosted one of the top teams in District 2-6A in the OHS Fieldhouse on Friday, and the visiting Lady Tigers proved their merit, suffocating the Lady Bronchos with a press defense, and limiting Odessa High to a single point in the second quarter as they pulled away to a 57-25 win.

The Lady Tigers scored 24 points off turnovers in the contest. After a competitive opening frame, Frenship bit down to outscore Odessa High 13-1 in the second quarter and build a 28-8 lead by the break.

Odessa High fared better down the stretch, matching Frenship’s 10 points in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Bronchos couldn’t catch the Lady Tigers, who moved to 24-7 overall and 6-1 in District 2-6A.

The Lady Bronchos dropped to 5-23, 0-7.

“The effort, first half, was nowhere in the gym. The second half we picked it up a lot better,” Odessa High head coach Olivia Pyburn said after the loss. “That’s what we talked about in the locker room — just effort.

“I believe, second half, we had a much better half.”

Frenship first started to pull away midway through the first quarter.

Odessa High matched step with step against the visitors in the early going, with Lady Bronchos’ freshman Amber Escontrias knocking down a 3-pointer to put Odessa High up 5-4.

But the Lady Tigers put together an 11-0 run from there, capped by a 3-pointer of their own to go up 15-5 late in the opening quarter. Escontrias’ drive and score ended the run before the end of the frame to make it 15-7 going into the second, but that’s when Frenship’s full-court press clamped down on the Lady Bronchos, and caused havoc for Odessa High.

Fueled by stops, steals and points off turnovers, Frenship pulled away in that second frame.

After halftime, Frenship’s Addison Wilson kept the Lady Tigers’ roll going, poking away a steal and finishing at the basket, then corralling an offensive rebound and put back to make it 34-8 and put the Lady Tigers well on their way to cruising through the second half.

Wilson scored a game-high 16 points.

“It’s hard to dig out of those holes when you’re playing catch-up,” Pyburn said.

In the defeat, Escontrias shined for the Lady Bronchos, scoring a team-high 13 points.

Pyburn said the freshman has come along late in the season. She scored eight points Tuesday against Amarillo Tascosa.

“She’s finally finding her niche,” Pyburn said.

“She’s been consistent these last three games, and the way she plays, that’s the way she practices, and that’s why she’s able to perform the way she does. As a freshman, it’s hard to play on this level, but she accepted the challenge and she’s stepping up big for us.”

Pyburn said she and the Lady Bronchos staff have seen potential from the start in Escontrias, and worked to instill confidence in her during her first year of varsity basketball.

Now, late in the season, with some experience in tow, that potential is showing on the court.

“When (the coaches) were talking to me, it’s helped me a lot. I had trouble with them getting to me, but I guess I finally came along,” Escontrias said with a smile and a shrug.

Odessa High takes on Midland Lee on Tuesday in Midland.

“We’re going to continue to keep competing, and have the best kids out there that’s giving us the effort on the floor,” Pyburn said. “I keep telling them, we don’t have anything to lose. We have everything to gain.”