January 17, 2008

Lady Tigers win another nail biter, improve to 4-0 in conference

Following on the heels of its one-point win over Coffeyville on Saturday, the Cowley College women’s basketball team held on for another nail biting win Wednesday at W.S. Scott Auditorium.

This time, the Lady Tigers survived three attempts by Johnson County to tie the game in the game’s final 15 seconds of play, as they escaped with a 57-54 victory over the Lady Cavaliers.

Cowley had an eight-point second half lead (34-26) cut to one (55-54) after a basket by Johnson County’s Meghan Waggoner with 1:30 remaining. Whitney Williams’ put back with 28.3 seconds remaining increased Cowley’s lead to 57-54 and set the stage for the exciting finish.

Lady Tiger Gabbie Curtis blocked Bethany Schwab’s three-point attempt, and then Elena Yankova (pictured) blocked heather Rourk’s tying three-point attempt. Johnson County grabbed Rourk's miss, but Meghan Waggoner had a three-pointer bounce off the rim to give the Lady Tigers the thrilling 57-54 win over the NCAA Division II third-ranked Lady Cavaliers.

Cowley head coach Todd Clark was pleased with the way his team battled.

"I thought we had opportunities to fold," Clark said. "I was very concerned. We were worn out. I'm really proud of our players of how they did. We battled and competed for the entire 40 (minutes)."

The victory improves Cowley’s record to 9-7 overall and 4-0 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. Johnson county falls to 12-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

Yankova stepped up big in the second half scoring 14 of her game-high 22 points in the game’s final 20 minutes of play. She also finished with a game-high five assists.
“Bebe” Holloway added 11 points and six rebounds, while Whitney Williams recorded a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

After being limited to only two points in the first half, Waggoner asserted herself in the second half and finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.

Cowley will attempt to remain unbeaten in the Jayhawk East when they begin a tough four-game road stretch that opens with them playing at Highland Saturday at 2 p.m. The game can be heard on KACY 102.5 FM Arkansas City.

Box score:
Johnson County (54): Brittany Slifer 1-6 0-0 3, Bethany Schwab 2-4 0-0 6, Heather Rourk 2-5 4-6 8, Meghan Waggoner 5-13 6-9 18, Katie Buenger 2-3 1-2 5, Erica Rothweiler 2-4 0-0 4, Ivy Morrison 0-0 0-0 0, Danielle Shows 1-2 0-0 2, Misty Stone 2-5 0-1 4, Amanda Ditmer 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 19-45 11-18 54.

Cowley (57): Elena Yankova 10-17 2-2 22, Shirolacille Holloway 5-8 1-5 11, Gabrielle Curtis 4-12 0-0 8, Whitney Williams 5-15 0-2 10, Lauren Cherry 2-3 0-0 4, Courtney Goodrum 0-1 0-0 0, Amy Slane 0-0 0-0 0, JaNeil Robinson 0-2 0-0 0, Alexis Wright 1-4 0-2 2. Totals: 27-63 3-11 57.

Three-pointers: Johnson County 5-10 (Slifer 1-3, Schwab 2-3, Waggoner 2-2, Rothweiler 0-2), Cowley 0-3 (Curtis 0-1, Goodrum 0-1, Wright 0-1). Rebounds: Johnson County 27 (Waggoner 9), Cowley 30 (10). Assists: Johnson County 7 (Rourk 2), Cowley 7 (Yankova 5). Turnovers: Johnson County 10, Cowley 8. Total fouls: Johnson County 11, Cowley 12. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.