BASKETBALL: Lady Chaps overcome miscues to beat SPC in OT
It’s pretty certain that Midland College women’s basketball coach Ron Jones will forgive his team for dousing him with water after Monday's night's game against South Plains College.
By Oscar LeRoy
Midland Reporter-Telegram
MIDLAND, TEXAS - It's pretty certain that Midland College women's basketball coach Ron Jones will forgive his team for dousing him with water after Monday's night's game against South Plains College.
The Lady Chaparrals had a reason to celebrate at Chaparral Center on Monday night as they overcame 23 turnovers and a five-point deficit late in regulation to beat South Plains College, 69-61, in overtime to win their sixth straight game and move into a first-place tie in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference standings.
"We had way too many turnovers and gave up too many offensive rebounds, but I'm proud of the way they fought and there are things that can be fixed, but it became a struggle," Jones said. "South Plains is really good. They don't make a lot of mistakes. It was a typical WJCAC game."
Added MC sophomore Bella Green: "We had to overcome a lot of adversity. The fact that we came back after being down in the final minutes was really satisfying. We were so happy that we threw water on Coach Jones in the locker room."
MC (15-4, 6-1) outscored the Lady Texans 13-5 in the extra period after the Lady Chaps rallied to tie the game at 56-all in this tightly-contested battle of the top two teams in the league.
South Plains (12-6, 6-1) had the momentum for most of the fourth quarter when it scored the first six points of the period and then had a 56-51 lead with less than three minutes left.
But the Lady Chaps got a free throw from Brooke Galvin and then got back-to-back buckets by Dana Thompson to force overtime.
"We just really wanted to win and we showed (in the final minutes) how we needed to fight," Green said. "Up until the final few minutes, I don't think we showed like how much we wanted to win that game. We really turned up the defensive pressure and rebounding was also big."
SPC again had a chance to put this game away in the OT as it had a 61-59 lead. But again, the Lady Chaps answered by playing good defense and outscored the Lady Texans 10-0 down the final stretch.
Green led MC with 12 points and nine rebounds, Thompson had 11 points and nine rebounds, Marin Lenz and Galvin also each had 11 points, while Makayla Escue added 10 points and eight boards.
Ashala Moseberry and Viktoria Ivanova each had 13 points to lead SPC, and Celia Sumbane added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
While this one was key in the WJCAC race, Jones said the team has got plenty of bigger goals in mind.
"The main thing is that we're trying to qualify for the playoffs," Jones said. "We're almost there and it's a home game. If we have any aspirations to try to win the conference, you have to win at home. We're a long way from that but we got an important win at home."
The Lady Chaps look to keep the winning streak going at rival Howard College at 5:45 p.m. Thursday.
Follow Oscar on Twitter: @OLeRoy_MRT
MIDLAND COLLEGE 69, SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE 61, OT
South Plains (12-6, 6-1) – Celia Sumbane 5-17, Martyna Czescik 2-9 1-2 7, Viktoria Ivanova 5-15 0-0 13, Raija Todd 2-14 0-2 4, Ashala Moseberry 5-13 0-0 13, Matilda Soderlund 1-5 0-0 3, Victoria Carvalho 2-6 2-4 6, Ewa Kielar 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 24-81 3-8 61
Midland College (15-4, 6-1) – Marin Lenz 2-5 6-6 11, Teanna Huggins 4-7 0-0 8, Makayla Escue 3-11 2-2 10, Dana Thompson 5-11 1-2 11, Bella Green 5-13 2-2 12, Kim Schrama 3-5 0-0 6, Nikki Sainsbury 0-0 0-0 0, Brooke Galvin 3-7 3-4 11. Totals 25-59 14-16 69
South Plains 19 11 10 16 5 -- 61
Midland College 12 19 12 13 13 -- 69
3-point goals – SPC 10-33 (Ivanova 3-7, Moseberry 3-8,, Czescik 2-7, Sumbane 1-5, Soderlund 1-3, Todd 0-3), MC 5-13 (Escue 2-5, Galvin 2-2, Lenz 1-3, Huggins 0-1, Thompson 0-1, Schrama 0-1). Total fouls – SPC 18, MC 10. Fouled out -- Moseberry. Rebounds – SPC 40 (Sumbane 12), MC 40 (Thompson 9, Green 9). Assists – SPC 15 (Todd 6), MC 15 (Huggins). Turnovers – SPC 12, MC 23.
2021-22 WJCAC women's basketball standings
Conference / Overall
W/L W/L
Midland College 6/1 15/4
South Plains 6/1 12/6
New Mexico JC 5/2 18/3
Clarendon 4/3 19/4
Frank Phillips 2/5 12/11
Western Texas 2/5 8/11
Odessa College 2/5 5/14
Howard College 0/7 7/13
Monday's Scores
Midland College 69, South Plains College 61, OT; Odessa College 51, Howard College 33; Western Texas College 64, Frank Phillips College 60, OT; New Mexico JC 66, Clarendon College 62
Thursday's Games
Midland College at Howard College; Western Texas College at Clarendon College; Odessa College at New Mexico JC; Frank Phillips College and South Plains College
CLICK HERE for 2021-22 Season Schedule
CLICK HERE for Live-Streaming of Games