Lady Rebels rally past RC in OT

The Ranger College women's basketball suffered a heartbreaking 77-72 setback to the Hill College Lady Rebels on Saturday in Hillsboro, Texas. The Lady Rebels used a 10-0 run in the final four minutes of play to erase a 10-point deficit and force the game into overtime. Once in OT, Hill reeled off a 15-10 spree to finish off the come-from-behind victory.

With the loss, Ranger College fell to 18-8 for the season and, more importantly, dropped to 7-5 in Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference play. The Lady Rangers are currently tied with Grayson and Cisco for the fourth – and final spot in the upcoming Region V basketball tournament. Only the top four teams from each conference will advance to the Region V championships, which will begin on March 6 at Abilene Christian University.

Hill, who currently sits atop the NTJCAC standings, got off to a good start against RC. The Lady Rebels posted a 17-12 run in the first 10 minutes of play and took a 5-point lead into the second quarter.

Marshalia Lollie, Angel Reese and Shan'Qaylia Stanton took the air out of Hill's sails, however. The three spearheaded a solid second-quarter effort by Ranger. The RC women outscored Hill by a 19-13 clip in the frame and took a 31-30 lead into the second half.

Ranger fed its hopes of an upset win with an even more impressive effort in the third quarter. Keyed by the defensive play of Stanton, Jaylan Gulley and Ny'Keria Jones, Ranger limited the Lady Rebels to just six points in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.

The Ranger offense poured in 15 points in that span and took a 10-point cushion, at 46-36, into the final frame.

Hill sophomore guard Kelsey Crouse got the Lady Rebels going from there. She helped Hill roll up a staggering 26-13 run in the first 9:45 of the fourth quarter. Hill held a 65-62 lead with less than 10 seconds left in regulation.

Stanton, who finished the game with 20 points and six assists, put a damper on the Lady Rebels' joy from there. The sophomore guard tossed up a three-pointer from the left wing with 1.7 seconds to force overtime.

Stanton's last-second shot failed to kickstart the RC offense, however. With Gulley on the bench after receiving her fifth foul and three others playing with four, the RC offense managed just 10 points in the extra frame.

Angel Reese and Lollie joined Stanton in starring for RC. A freshman from Amarillo, Reese put in 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Lollie fell just a basket shy of a double-double, netting eight points and 11 boards.

Kylah Mize and Oksanna "Coco" Williams also did well. Mize knocked down three key three-point shots and finished with nine points. Williams added eight points and two assists.

Ranger will host Weatherford College tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the Ron Butler Gymnasium.