March 6, 2008

Lady Tigers win sixth straight, move on to play at Koch Arena

Getting double-doubles from Lauren Cherry and Bebe Holloway, along with a game-high 21 points from Gabbie Curtis, the No. 5-seeded Cowley College women’s basketball team pounded 12th-seeded Garden City 72-50 in the first-round of the Region VI Tournament played Wednesday in W.S. Scott Auditorium.

After falling behind 11-6 eight minutes into Wednesday’s game, the Lady Tigers outscored Garden City 22-4 to lead 28-15 at the end of the first half. Cowley opened the second half on an 11-2 run to increase its lead to 38-17 and led by as many as 25 points in the victory.

The 72 points were the most the Lady Tigers had scored in a game since a 72-47 win over Highland on Jan. 19.

“I thought we played with some energy and ran the floor real well,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. “I was very proud of them and thought this was a good win for us.”

Cherry, playing her final game in a Lady Tiger uniform, set career highs for points (19) and rebounds (13) in a game. Holloway added 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

The victory was Cowley’s sixth in a row and improves the Lady Tigers’ record to 20-11 on the season. Cowley will now prepare to play fourth-seeded Seward County (23-8) Friday at 5 p.m. at Wichita State University’s Koch Arena.

Seward County defeated 13th-seeded Allen County 81-48 in its first-round game played on Wednesday.

“This team has a chance to be successful,” Clark said. “Hopefully, we can play well Friday.”

Box score:
Garden City (50: Whitnie Young 3-12 2-3 9, Amber Brown 2-7 0-0 6, Trista Schmitt 1-7 0-0 3, Janel Durler 2-4 0-0 4, Katie Novack 4-11 0-0 12, La Taish Brown 4-7 0-0 8, Jessica Copeland 2-10 0-0 6, Emerald Burnett 1-2 0-0 2, Dominique Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Briana Loadholt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-62 2-3 50.

Cowley (72): Elena Yankova 4-10 0-1 8, Bebe Holloway 4-8 4-5 12, Gabbie Curtis 8-14 5-6 21, Whitney Williams 2-7 0-2 4, Lauren Cherry 8-13 3-6 19, Noelle Jackson 2-3 0-0 5, Courtney Goodrum 0-3 0-0 0, Natasa Draganic 0-0 0-0 0, Alexis Wright 1-2 1-2 3. Totals: 29-60 13-22 72.

Three-pointers: Garden City 10-31 (Young 1-4, A. Brown 2-4, Schmitt 1-4, Novack 4-10, Copeland 2-9), Cowley 1-3 (Yankova 0-1, Jackson 1-2). Rebounds: Garden City 23 (Schmitt 7), Cowley 45 (Holloway 14). Assists: Garden City 8 (three players tied with 2), Cowley 22 (Yankova 6). Turnovers: Garden City 19, Cowley 18. Total fouls: Garden City 15, Cowley 7. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.