ARTICLE BY MICHAEL BAUER: ODESSA AMERICAN

The Odessa College women's basketball team used a strong second half to overcome a slow start in the Lady Wranglers' 82-63 win over Frank Phillips College Thursday at OC Sports Center.

Playing its conference home opener, No. 15-ranked Odessa College extended its current winning streak to 15 games while improving to 16-2 overall, 2-0 in WJCAC.

However, it wasn't until the third quarter when the Lady Wranglers managed to finally distance themselves from Frank Phillips College.

"I'm proud for the win, but I didn't think we were very disciplined on some of the key things we were supposed to work on," Odessa College head coach Franqua Bedell said. "But in that third quarter, we were able to separate from them and keep them at bay."

Leading only by six at the half, the Lady Wranglers outscored the Lady Plainsmen in the third quarter 25-11 to take a 20-point lead heading into the fourth.

The Lady Plainsmen fell to 11-5, 0-1.

The Lady Wranglers were led in scoring by Chelsy Bautista's 26 points as she went 12-23 on field goals, 2-2 on 3-pointers and 0-2 from the line.

"She's doing well," Bedell said of Bautista. "She has a knack for getting the ball and scoring. She's doing a great job and her game has grown and I think it'll continue to grow."

Odessa College's Tia Shelling had 12 points, going 6-10 on field goals and 0-2 on 3-pointers.

Sarengbe Sanogo and Ivana Krajina both had 10 points. Sanogo went 4-7 on inside shots, 0-1 on 3-pointers and 2-3 on free throws.

Krajina went 4-16 on field goals, 2-2 on 3-pointers and 0-2 from the line.

As a team, the Lady Wranglers went 36-78 on field goals, 7-17 on 3-pointers and 3-8 on free throws.

Frank Phillips College was led by Ayuen Akot's 26 points. She went 8-16 on field goals, 8-12 on 3-pointers and 2-2 on free throws.

The Lady Plainsmen began the game on a 5-0 run before Odessa College called a timeout with 7:14 left in the first quarter.

The Lady Wranglers started to wake up in the form of a 13-5 run to take a three-point advantage late in the quarter.

The Lady Wranglers got a couple more baskets before the end of the quarter and an inside shot by Shelling made it 17-10 at the buzzer.

Both teams kept it close to start the second quarter as Frank Phillips College cut into Odessa College's lead.

Multiple 3-pointers from the Lady Plainsmen tied the game at 23 with under six minutes in the quarter.

An inside jumper by Bautista gave the Lady Wranglers a 30-27 lead with 2:39 remaining.

Odessa College closed out the half with a 6-3 run to take a 36-30 lead at the break.

Both teams began the second half trading 3-pointers with Frank Phillips' Bahar Kalkan and Odessa College's Alice Meuniere both scoring from beyond the arc.

Another Lady Wrangler 3-pointer made it 42-33 with 7:36 left in the third quarter.

Meuniere continued her strong start to the second half with an inside bucket on her team's next possession and the Lady Wranglers had an 11-point advantage.

Bautista scored back-to-back field goals, the second of which came on a transition, to give her team a 51-35 lead with 5:06 remaining.

Odessa College used a 10-6 run to close out the quarter and take a comfortable 61-41 lead.

"We adjusted … finding Ayuen Akot and knowing where she was on the floor and to not let her get an open shot," Bedell said. "She kept this game close because she was able to make shots and we weren't as disciplined as we needed to be. That's what we talked about at halftime. We did a better job in the third and fourth quarters."

Bautista's 3-pointer gave the Lady Wranglers a 66-43 advantage early in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Wranglers will next face New Mexico College on the road at 5:45 p.m. Monday in Hobbs, N.M.