No. 4 Lady T-Birds upset by Clarendon on road

CLARENDON, Texas — The No. 4 New Mexico Junior College women's basketball team struggled from the opening tip and never recovered for an 86-71 loss Thursday to Clarendon College in Clarendon, Texas.

The Lady Thunderbirds (25-3, 12-2), who already wrapped up their fourth-straight WJCAC title, battled foul trouble in the first half and found themselves down 47-23 at the break.

NMJC closed the gap on Clarendon (15-15, 5-9), but never threatened in the second half to suffer its worst defeat of the season.

"We just weren't ready to play," NMJC coach Drew Sanders said. "We played poorly and were in foul trouble all night."

Angelica de Paulo led NMJC with 19 points while Antoina Robinson had 17 points, eight rebounds and five steals, Kelsey Criner had 14 points and five steals and Nikki Smith had 11 points.

Ja'lee Carver led Clarendon with 33 points, seven steals, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Lady T-Birds went 14-for-25 from the free-throw line while Clarendon was 30-for-45 as NMJC was whistled for 38 fouls in the game.

NMJC will be the top seed out of the WJCAC in the Region V Tournament and face Weatherford noon (CST) Wednesday at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas. Odessa and Midland both are also heading to the regional tournament out of the WJCAC while Frank Phillips and Western Texas will have a play-in game for the fourth and final spot out of the conference.