Strong defensive effort helps Lady Tigers go 1-1 in Dodge City

Allowing just 71 points in two games,  the Cowley College women’s basketball team went 1-1 over the weekend at the Dodge City Classic.

The Lady Tigers were involved in another close game vs. Frank Phillips College on Friday. Unfortunately, Cowley suffered another narrow defeat as they lost by a score of 47-43. Cowley has lost three games this season by four points or less, and four games by six points or less.

The game was close throughout as Frank Phillips led 25-24 at halftime and the score was tied at 43-43 in the final minutes of the game. Cowley had four chances to take the lead but was unsuccessful.

Frank Phillips’ Danielle Hardiman scored to put the Lady Plainsman ahead 45-43 with less than a minute remaining. Cowley then turned the ball over on its next possession, and Hardiman drained a pair of free throws to put Frank Phillips ahead 47-43 with 35 seconds left.

Down four, Cowley again turned the ball over and the Lady Plainsman held on for the win to improve to 9-1 on the season.

Both teams struggled shooting as Cowley out-shot Frank Phillips 27 percent to 24 percent from the floor. The difference in the game came at the free-throw line as Frank Phillips had 21 more attempts( 28-7) and outscored the Lady Tigers 20-4 from the line.

Cowley’s opponents have shot 98 more free throws than the Lady Tigers through the team’s first nine games.

“We have got to address that issue somehow,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. “When you send someone to the free-throw line that many more times than you it’s hard to compete with that. We have got to do a better job of getting to the free-throw line.”

Elena Yankova led Cowley with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Gabrielle Curtis finished with eight points and eight rebounds. However, Yankova and Curtis combined to make just 8-of-32 shots from the floor.

Cowley came back on Saturday and beat up on an overmatched Fort Carson squad by a score of 74-24. Cowley forced 25 turnovers and held Fort Carson to 18.4 percent shooting.

“We locked in on what we needed to do,” Clark said.

Curtis and Neasha Haynes led the Lady Tigers with 12 points a piece. Courtney Goodrum had her best game of the season as she chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Bebe Holloway returned from injury to add eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Cowley is now 4-6 on the season. The Lady Tigers will prepare for the Jayhawk Shootout this weekend in Coffeyville. On Saturday, Cowley will play Dodge City at 7 p.m. The Lady Tigers will then play Pratt at 5 p.m. Sunday.

“We will work a lot on late game situations this week,” Clark said.

Box score from Friday:
Cowley (43): Noelle Jackson 1-8 0-0 2, Cameron Roland 0-0 0-0 0, Elena Yankova 5-19 0-0 10, Natasa Draganic 0-2 1-2 1, Bebe Holloway 1-4 0-2 2, JaNeil Robinson 2-5 0-0 4, Alexis Wright 2-3 0-0 6, Gabrielle Curtis 3-13 2-2 8, Lauren Cherry 3-7 0-0 6, Neasha Haynes 1-5 1-1 3, Whitney Williams 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 19-70 4-7 43.
Frank Phillips (47): 13-53 (1) 20-28.

Box score from Saturday:
Cowley (74): Noelle Jackson 0-2 0-0 0, Cameron Roland 0-3 0-0 0, Elena Yankova 4-9 0-0 8, Courtney Goodrum 3-10 5-6 11, Amy Slane 1-4 0-0 2, Sammantha Maley 0-2 0-0 0, Bebe Holloway 4-10 0-0 8, JaNeil Robinson 1-4 2-2 4, Alexis Wright 2-7 1-1 6, Gabrielle Curtis 5-9 0-0 12, Caitlin Spencer 2-4 0-0 4, Lauren Cherry 3-4 1-2 7, Neasha Haynes 5-11 1-2 12. Totals: 30-79 10-13 74.

Fort Carson (24): 7-38 (5) 5-8.