February 9, 2009

Lady Tigers win fifth straight, beat Independence 70-55

Following a two-game slide that left them with a record of 3-4 in the conference, the Cowley College women’s basketball team has rattled off five straight wins to move into sole possession of third place in the Jayhawk East.

The Lady Tigers’ latest win came Saturday in Independence as they beat the Lady Pirates 70-55. The victory improves Cowley’s record to 17-7 overall and 8-4 in the conference.

Cowley got off to a good start as they led 30-21 at the end of the first half. The Lady Tigers would lead by as many as 24 points in the second half as they cruised to the 15-point win.

“That was a good win for us,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. “We were really good defensively at the beginning of the game.”

Cowley forced Independence into 20 turnovers while turning the ball over only seven times themselves.
Elena Yankova and Gabbie Curtis shared game-high honors with 20 points apiece. Bebe Holloway added 10 points, four rebounds and four steals.

Coach Clark is proud of the way his team has bounced back after dropping to 3-4 in conference play.

“I don’t think the players ever got down on themselves,” Clark said. ‘It is critical during a long year to keep your team together, which is not always easy to do.”

Cowley will now prepare to host conference leading Labette Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Cardinals are 18-6 overall and 12-0 in the Jayhawk East.

In the previous meeting at Labette on Jan. 14, the Lady Tigers led Labette by five points with just over two minutes left. The Lady Cardinals scored the game’s final 12 points to win 57-50.

“We felt like we gave them the game over there and are looking forward to playing them again,” Clark said. “We have to be really good defensively and shoot at a high percentage.”