Girls basketball: OHS beats Permian, keeps playoff hopes alive

The Odessa High Lady Bronchos kept their playoff hopes alive Tuesday night with a 72-47 win over the Permian Lady Panthers at the OHS Fieldhouse.

The victory moved Odessa High (12-15 overall, 4-5 District 3-5A) within 1½ games of San Angelo Central and Midland Lee in the district standings. The Lady Bronchos have three games remaining, all against teams currently in the top four of the standings.

“We’re getting better,” OHS head coach Harry Masch said. “We felt like we were getting better the last three or four games. Even against Abilene High, I thought we played well. We’ve just got to continue to do that. We’ve improved a whole lot since the last time we played Permian (a 62-54 OHS victory on Dec. 17). Our girls haven’t quit. They just keep on doing the best they can and they’re doing a lot better.”

Samantha Salazar had 21 points and six steals for OHS, which has won its last two after suffering through a five-game losing streak. Dorrian McKnight had 16 points and 13 rebounds.

McKnight was forced out of the game with 4:25 remaining when she hit her head on the floor after drawing a charge, but she is expected to be available when OHS plays at district leader Midland High on Friday.

Emily Weatherford had a game-high 26 points for Permian (8-18, 0-9), but she was the only Lady Panthers player in double figures.

“I’m really proud of Emily for playing as well as she did,” Permian coach Jennifer Shuttlesworth said. “She not only scored, she rebounded well and played better defense than she has been. I’m pleased that she had another good game because it’s been a while since she had a breakout game.

“Our problem is we almost have somebody who shows up and plays really well, but we’ve got to have two or three or four people break out like that in order to be successful in a game. We can’t rely on one girl to do everything. Until we have several of them step up and have big games, I’m afraid we’re going to continue to struggle.”

Shelby Chancellor and Dusty Westlund each had six points for Permian. Westlund also had eight rebounds and three assists, while Ashleigh Alfaro had 10 rebounds and Sam Baker had four assists.

All 10 players to play for OHS scored as the Lady Bronchos attempted 77 shots, hitting 25, including 10 3-pointers.

“I’m really pleased because the girls now know to keep shooting,” Masch said. “You can’t be second-guessing your shots; if you’re open, you’re supposed to shoot the ball. They’re finally starting to do that. We care if it goes in. We would prefer it to go in, but if it doesn’t, we want you to keep shooting any way.”

Odessa High scored the first five points and never trailed, but Permian twice pulled within a point late in the first quarter. The Lady Bronchos’ press took a toll in the second quarter, forcing 14 of the Lady Panthers’ 32 total turnovers by forcing post players to handle the ball in the backcourt.

Those turnovers helped OHS outscore Permian 8-1 in the last two minutes of the half to take a 28-18 lead at the break.

“Early on in games, we focus on our game plan really well,” Shuttlesworth said. “Then as the game continues on, we kind of lose sight of what we’re trying to do; things like offensively rebounding. We did have to change things up on our press breaker because OHS was doing a good job and causing us to turn it over. We put Ashleigh Alfaro up there and she does a good job of handling the ball, so it didn’t kill us once we got it figured out.”

OHS slowly increased the lead in the third quarter, taking a 16-point edge into the fourth. A 12-4 run gave the Lady Bronchos their biggest lead at 67-39 with two minutes to go.