February 19, 2009

Lady Tigers earn eighth straight win with overtime thriller in Coffeyville

With the three previous meetings between the Cowley College and Coffeyville Community College women’s basketball teams being decided by one point, it was expected that Wednesday night’s game at No.12-ranked Coffeyville would be another heart stopper.

The game did not disappoint, as the score was tied 30-30 at the end of the first half and 60-60 at the end of regulation. Thanks to sophomore point guard Gabbie Curtis’ 10 points in the extra session, Cowley pulled out a 78-76 win.

Despite leading the majority of the contest, Cowley was never able to have more than a five-point advantage over the Lady Red Ravens.

“I never felt like we were in control, but I was glad we finished the game,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. “A win is a win, we’ll take it and head out of town.”

Coffeyville had a chance to win the game in regulation as Lady Red Raven, Taja Green, was fouled with four seconds left and Cowley leading by one (60-59). Green made the first free throw, tying the game at 60-60, but missed the second. Cowley’s Bebe Holloway grabbed the rebound on the missed free throw but was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded.

In overtime, Curtis hit back-to-back three-pointers to break a 68-68 tie and give Cowley a six-point lead with 1:05 left to play. Curtis would increase the Lady Tigers’ lead to 76-68 with a pair of free throws with 42.5 seconds remaining.

Cowley made 1-of-2 free-throws on each of its next two possessions and held on for the win despite a pair of three-pointers by Coffeyville in the game’s final 13 seconds.

Winners of eight games in a row, Cowley is now 20-7 overall and 11-4 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The Lady Tigers are third in the conference, two games behind Coffeyville (24-3 overall, 12-3 Jayhawk East) and Labette (12-4 Jayhawk East).

Curtis led Cowley with 20 points, six assists and six rebounds, while Elena Yankova finished with 18 points and five assists. Holloway had another strong game as she finished with 16 points and five steals.
Tarita Gordon led Coffeyville with 18 points, while Green added 13 points in the defeat.

The Lady Tigers will prepare to host Johnson County Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Cavaliers (18-10 overall, 11-5 Jayhawk East) are just a half game behind Cowley for third place in the conference.