Thunderbird (WBB) Finishes 2nd in WJCAC, Faces Grayson in Region V Tournament

Jada Graves hit the go-ahead bucket with two seconds to go and completed the 3-point play to defeat Odessa College 87-86 in thrilling fashion in the final game of the regular season.

The T-Birds trailed by as many as 11 points to Odessa in the third quarter. NMJC cut the lead at the end of the third to three points, 65-62. The Wranglers were off to a quick start in the fourth quarter leading 72-64. Odessa maintained the lead 79-72 with 5:47 to go in the game. 

The Thunderbirds fought back and tied the score at 79 all before taking the 81-79 lead on a Zarai Lewis jumper with 2:20. A free throw by Luisa Amaral made it 82-79. The Wranglers countered with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 82 apiece with a minute to go. NMJC then turned the ball over, and the Wranglers took it the other way for a layup to grab the 84-82 lead. 

The next possession Amaral took it to the cup for NMJC and tied it up at 84-84 with 30 seconds left. Odessa drew a foul on the drive and made both free throws to regain the lead 86-84 with six seconds to go. 

NMJC advanced the ball and then Graves split two defenders on the right wing, drawing a foul and making the layup to tie the game at 86 with 1.8 seconds left. Graves made the free throw and Odessa's shot at the buzzer hit the front rim as NMJC won 87-86 in a wild one on sophomore night. 

Jada Graves finished with 27 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds in her final game inside the Caster Activity Center. The sophomore made it count from the stripe shooting 11-for-12. 

Zarai Lewis was on fire from 3-point territory going 4-for-5, scoring 20 points, and grabbing five rebounds. Luisa Amaral recorded 15 points and five rebounds. 

Madison Wilson came off the bench and pulled down 13 rebounds while adding eight points. The T-Bird bench outscored the Odessa bench 29-4. 

The game featured 10 ties and eight lead changes throughout the 40 minutes of play.  

The Thunderbirds finished the regular season tied for second with Howard and South Plains at 10-4 in the WJCAC. Clarendon won the conference going 13-1. 

The T-Birds will be the No. 4 seed at the Region V Tournament followed by No. 3 seed South Plains, No. 2 Seed Howard, and No. 1 seed Clarendon.

The No. 4 seed Thunderbirds will face No. 1 seed Grayson College from the NTJCAC. The game is set to tip Wednesday, March 11 at 1 p.m. CDT on TSBN sports.  

The T-Birds shot 30-for-63 (47.6%) from the field, 6-of-16 (37.5%) from the 3-point line, and 21-of-26 (80.8%) from the charity stripe. 

The No. 12 ranked Thunderbirds move to 23-5 (10-4) on the year and will face Grayson College in the first round of the Region V Tournament in Odessa, Texas Wednesday, March 11 at 1 p.m. CDT.