January 20, 2009

Gordon lifts Coffeyville to 59-58 win over Lady Tigers

Rallying from a 10-point (35-25) halftime deficit, the Cowley College women’s basketball team put themselves in position to hand Coffeyville its first conference defeat. However, Lady Red Raven sophomore, Tarita Gordon, hit a running jumper in the lane with eight seconds left to lift Coffeyville to a 59-58 win.

Cowley sophomore Elena Yankova, whose miss of the front end of a one-and-one set up Gordon’s game-winning basket, had a chance to win it for the Lady Tigers but missed a 15-footer with two seconds left.

Cowley started slow as they fell behind 13-2 to start the game. The Lady Tigers methodically chipped away at Coffeyville’s lead in the second half before finally going ahead, 53-52, on a basket by Yankova with 4:15 left to play.

With the score tied at 57-57, Cowley sophomore Bebe Holloway was fouled with 36.1 seconds remaining. Holloway hit the first free throw, but missed the second. Coffeyville’s Kristina Smith then missed a jumper on the other end and Yankova was fouled after grabbing the rebound, thus setting the stage for the frantic finish.

Gordon was the only Lady Red Raven to score in double figures as she scored 13 of her 19 points in the first half. She also added five rebounds and five assists. The victory improves Coffeyville’s record to 16-2 overall and 6-0 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division.

Holloway had a big game in the defeat as she finished with a game-high 20 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Gabbie Curtis added 16 points, while Yankova finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Unfortunately, Yankova committed 10 of the Lady Tigers’ 20 turnovers.

The loss was Cowley’s third in its last four games, dropping the Lady Tigers’ record to 12-6 overall and 3-3 in the Jayhawk East. Cowley is now tied for fifth place in the conference with Fort Scott.

The Lady Tigers will play at Johnson County Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Lady Cavaliers are 10-7 overall and 4-2 in the conference. The game can be heard on KSOK 95.9 FM.

Box score:
Coffeyville (59): Kristina Smith 4-9 0-1 8, Tarita Gordon 7-19 4-4 19, Cheryl Scott 3-8 1-2 9, Brittnee Foster 1-1 0-0 2, Taja Green 1-2 2-2 5, Allie Bufford 0-0 0-0 0, Destiny Sims 0-0 0-0 0, Sheay Longstaff 1-3 0-0 3, Jasmine Manuel 2-5 0-2 5, Stephanie Nitcher 1-2 0-1 2, Arienne Smith 1-4 0-0 2, Niasa Drake 1-3 2-4 4. Totals: 22-56 9-16 59.

Cowley (58): Elena Yankova 4-11 3-5 11, Bebe Holloway 7-14 6-8 20, JaNeil Robinson 1-2 0-0 2, Gabbie Curtis 6-11 3-5 16, Whitney Williams 1-6 2-2 4, Kaneesha Lee 1-2 0-0 2, Brianna Gonzalez 0-1 0-0 0, Darby Lupardes 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 21-48 14-20 58.

Three-pointers: Coffeyville 6-12 (Smith 0-1, Gordon 4-4, Scott 1-2, Green 2-2, Manuel 0-2, Drake 2-4). Cowley 2-5 (Curtis 1-3, Gonzalez 0-1, Lupardes 1-1). Rebounds: Coffeyville 27 (Gordon 5), Cowley 35 (Holloway 12). Assists: Coffeyville 13 (Gordon 5), Cowley 15 (Yankova 6). Turnovers: Coffeyville 13, Cowley 20. Total fouls: Coffeyville 18, Cowley 17. Technicals: none.