RC women grab OT win over Grayson

With apologies to Mark Twain, the report of the Ranger College women's basketball team's playoff hopes has been greatly exaggerated.

Thanks to a gutsy effort by the Lady Rangers on Jan. 20 in Denison, the Ranger College women breathed new life into their hopes of grabbing up one of the top four spots in the NTJCAC race. The Lady Rangers turned a last-second bucket in regulation to a stunning 64-62 come-from-behind win in overtime.

With the win, Ranger College moved to 18-4 for the season and, more importantly, moved to 4-4 in conference play.

Grayson held the upper hand early. The Lady Vikings rode a 17-point outburst in the second quarter to a 28-22 halftime lead.

Bre'Asiajah Matthews and Alena Wilson brought Ranger back. The two spearheaded a 32-26 run over the first 19:54 of the second half. The run enabled the Lady Rangers to pull to within 56-54 with less than six seconds left. In the closing seconds, RC picked up a turnover off a Grayson inbounds pass and turned it into a tie.

The Lady Rangers finished off the win from there. They outscored Grayson by an 8-6 clip in the extra frame.

Matthews led all RC scorers by pouring in a game-high 29 points. She also added 10 points.

Wilson also finished with a double-double, netting 13 points and 11 rebounds. She'Ray Wilson and Giordin Johnson also played well, scoring nine and five points, respectively.