February 23, 2009

Lady Tigers remain hot, beat Johnson County for ninth straight win

Led by its improved offensive attack, the Cowley College women’s basketball team defeated Johnson County 71-52 for its ninth straight victory, Saturday night at W.S. Scott Auditorium in Arkansas City.

Cowley shot 50 percent from the floor, made 5-of-8 three-point attempts, and went 18-of-19 from the free-throw line. The Lady Tigers have scored more than 70 points eight times during its current winning streak.

“We are being more aggressive offensively, taking it to the basket more and getting more opportunities at the free-throw line,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. “We also established Whitney (Williams) in the post early on and got them spread out defensively.”

Leading 38-30 at the end of the first half, Cowley scored the first six points of the second half to lead 44-30. Johnson County cut the Lady Tigers’ lead to 57-47 on a basket by Ivy Morrison with 7:10 remaining. However, Cowley put the game away by scoring the next 11 points.

Sophomore point guard Gabbie Curtis scored over 20 points for the second straight game as she hit 4-of-5 three point attempts and finished with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists.

“Gabbie has really shot the ball well the last couple of games,” Clark said.

Elena Yankova, the conference’s second leading scorer at 16.8 points per game, finished with 20 points and six assists. While, Bebe Holloway added 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

JaNeil Robinson also played well and finished the game with six points, nine rebounds and five assists. Sophomore post player, Whitney Williams, controlled the paint as she blocked five shots to go along with her eight points and seven rebounds.

All of Cowley’s points came from its sophomores.

“Our sophomores have confidence in their ability to get things done,” Clark said.

Cowley improves to 21-7 overall and 12-4 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The Lady Tigers remain two games behind conference leaders, Labette and Coffeyville with two games to play. Labette and Coffeyville will play each other on Wednesday, with the winner guaranteed at least a share of the conference title.

Cowley needs just one win in its final two games to assure it would finish no worse than third in the conference and region.

Melissa Nelson led Johnson County with 17 points, but made just 5-of-16 shots from the floor. The loss drops the Lady Cavaliers’ record to 18-11 overall and 11-6 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division.

Cowley will play its final regular season home game on Wednesday when they host Neosho County at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Panthers are 11-17 overall and 6-10 in the Jayhawk East. Cowley started its winning streak at Neosho County back on Jan. 24 as they rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat the Lady Panthers 70-61.

“We will try to take it one game at a time,” Clark said. “This team has become more resilient since that game (at Neosho).”

Box score:
Johnson County (52): Crista Bechard 4-9 0-0 11, Amanda Dittmer 2-7 0-0 6, Melissa Nelson 5-16 7-8 17, Danielle Shows 6-9 0-0 12, Nikki Naab 0-1 0-0 0, Sasha Barnes 1-3 0-0 2, Ivy Morrison 1-3 0-0 2, Katie Nietzke 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 20-50 7-8 52.

Cowley (71): Elena Yankova 8-15 3-3 20, Bebe Holloway 5-8 5-5 15, JaNeil Robinson 2-7 2-2 6, Gabbie Curtis 6-9 6-7 22, Whitney Williams 3-6 2-2 8, Courtney Goodrum 0-1 0-0 0, Kaneesha Lee 0-2 0-0 0, Darby Lupardes 0-0 0-0 0, Brianna Gonzalez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-48 18-19 71.

Three-pointers: Johnson County 5-16 (Bechard 3-7, Dittmer 2-6, Nelson 0-1, Barnes 0-1, Nietzke 0-1), Cowley 5-8 (Yankova 1-2, Robinson 0-1, Curtis 4-5). Rebounds: Johnson County 19 (Shows 6), Cowley 35 (Holloway 13). Assists: Johnson County 11 (Bechard 3), Cowley 20 (Yankova 6). Turnovers: Johnson County 8, Cowley 10. Total fouls: Johnson County 12, Cowley 8. Technicals: none.