Lady Rangers earn postseason berth

The postseason ticket didn't get punched the way the Ranger College women's basketball team had wanted. But it got punched, nonetheless.

Despite a tough 77-70 loss to Grayson College on Wednesday night in Plano that left the two teams tied in the final standings, the Lady Rangers picked up the conference's final postseason berth by virtue of a tiebreaker. The Lady Rangers advanced due to a better point-differential (35-33) created by a mathematical formula based on wins over higher finishing opponents in conference play.

Ranger secured the No. 4 seed from the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference and kick off its third straight appearance in the Region V Women's Basketball Championships on March 6 when they face off with South Plains. South Plains is the No. 1 seed from the Western Junior College Athletic Conference.

The Lady Rangers, who won six of their final 10 games to put themselves into a position to make the postseason tournament, started strong against Grayson in the regular-season finale for both squads. RC outscored the Lady Vikings by a 14-12 clip in the first quarter.

Grayson rallied to post a 23-19 run in the second and took a slim 35-33 lead into the half.

The Lady Rangers looked to have hit stride in the third. The team pounded out a 26-21 spree in the first 10 minutes of the second half and took a 59-56 advantage into the final stanza.

Grayson rallied down the stretch to collect the win.

Despite the loss, Ranger College finished the regular season with a 20-10 record, including a 9-7 mark in NTJCAC action.

Hill College netted the No. 1 seed in the NTJCAC race. Collin County edged out Weatherford for the No. 2 seed.