Odessa High couldn’t find that one last-second shot or defensive stop when it needed it most.
The Lady Bronchos went back and forth against Lamesa Saturday and were deadlocked down the stretch until a few decisive plays turned the tide of the game. Ultimately, they fell one point short.
Odessa High fell to Lamesa 53-52 Saturday afternoon in the consolation championship game of the Kristen Corbin Classic at the Andrews Performance Center.
Lamesa’s Samaje Mason led all scorers with 25 points, followed by teammate Camren Clement, who has 15. Odessa High was led by freshman Melina Escogido, who finished with 15 points.
“The little things that are hurting us is the reason that we’re not winning basketball games,” Odessa High head coach Olivia Pyburn said.
Those miscues such as turnovers and shot selection left several points on the floor for the young Odessa High (4-10) squad. It finishes the Andrews tournament with one win and two losses after prior games with Kermit and Klondike.
“We have some things to work on and we know we played really aggressive teams so we know how to handle that,” Odessa High junior Skylar Herrera said. “We’re becoming better as a team each and every day.”
The Lady Bronchos were able to watch Lamesa defeat Big Spring on Friday knew their toughness would be tested with how scrappy the Lady Golden Tornadoes were.
That extra study paid off early on as Odessa High got the start it wanted — leading by 11 at the end of the first quarter. Then the second quarter titled the game toward Lamesa.
The Lady Bronchos allowed 22 points in the second quarter to see their lead go away and fall behind by the halftime break. After that, they never truly had momentum on their side again.
“Absolutely unacceptable, they got a pretty good talking to at halftime about that,” Pyburn said. “That was the turnaround in the game. You just give up 22 points in the second quarter, that’s a lack of effort defensively.”
Lamesa extended its lead by the start of the fourth quarter to five points, allowing Odessa High to stay within striking distance despite its faults.
The Lady Bronchos held Mason scoreless until the closing moments of the game and even momentarily retook the lead with less than three minutes to go.
Escogido’s go-ahead score with 2:48 left would be the last field goal either team would make in the game as the only points scored after that were Mason’s two free throws with under a minute left.
“We knew how we could play today and I guess we thought we had the game in the bag and we didn’t,” Escogido said. “I think next time, even if we are ahead, keep at it and play hard like if we are losing. I think it will bring us together more as a team.”
Two years ago, a consolation championship in the Kristen Corbin Classic vaulted Odessa High into district play with confidence. Though the Lady Bronchos are leaving Andrews this year without a piece of hardware, the early-season growing pains seem to be yielding a tougher and more experienced team.
“That’s what tournament games are for,” Pyburn said. “We’re still finding the identity of our team, but we also see improvement in them as a team overall. We’re getting better.”
