Koang's buzzer beater lifts No. 1 Lady Texans over No. 17 Odessa 59-57 Monday

ODESSA — Ruth Koang sank a 10-foot jumper as time expired as the top-ranked South Plains College women's basketball team knocked off No. 17 Odessa College 59-57 Monday night at the Odessa College Sports Complex.

South Plains improved to 23-0 on the year and 7-0 in the WJCAC with the win and will be back on the road on Thursday in Big Spring to take on the Howard College Lady Hawks with tip slated for 5:45 p.m.

With the Lady Texans holding on to a 57-52 lead with just under a minute to play, the Lady Wranglers trimmed their deficit to two as Sofia Persson knocked down a 3 with 36 ticks left. Odessa would then force a turnover and made the most of their opportunity as Persson would hit a runner in traffic to tie the game at 57 apiece with six seconds to play.

Following a timeout from head coach Cayla Petree, the Lady Texans put the ball into the hands of their 6-foot-5 sophomore center Koang, who pulled up with a second to play and beat the buzzer to keep South Plains perfect on the season and atop the WJCAC standings.

Koang would finish with 14 points and nine rebounds, connecting on 7 of 15 shots from the floor and also recorded three blocked shots over 29 minutes. Sophomore point guard Caroline Germond tallied 14 points, seven assists, and two steals, netting 6 of 15 shots from the field in 38 minutes of action.

Sophomore Asia McCoy chipped in nine points for South Plains and snagged a team-high 10 rebounds, seven on the defensive end as the Lady Texans shot 38.8 percent from the floor and held the Lady Wranglers to a 33.8 percent clip from the field.

Persson led all scorers with 27 points on 10 of 18 shooting from the floor to go along with five rebounds and a pair of assists. Jordan Brown notched 13 points and eight rebounds for Odessa while Arielle Adams recorded six points and five boards.

Both teams scratched to win the interior battle with the final rebounding numbers virtually identical while the Lady Texans outscored Odessa 38-32 inside the paint and received 24 points from their bench.