March 4, 2009

Lady Tigers open Region Tourney with 80-31 win

Blasting seventh-seeded Colby Community College 80-31 in the first-round of the Region VI Tournament played Tuesday at W.S. Scott Auditorium, the Cowley College women’s basketball team will take a 12-game winning streak to Wichita State University’s Koch Arena.

The Lady Tigers advance to play third-seeded Hutchinson Community College, which defeated Neosho County 83-72 on Tuesday. The teams will square off Friday at 1 p.m. in Wichita.

On Tuesday, Cowley led just 17-10 midway through the first half before busting the game open. Sophomore Elena Yankova scored 17 first half points and Courtney Goodrum banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lady Tigers a 43-23 halftime lead.

Cowley would score the first 21 points of the second half as Colby went scoreless for more than 10 minutes.

The Lady Trojans scored just eight second half points and needed a pair of baskets in the final two minutes of play to break the 30-point mark. For the game, Colby shot just 22 percent from the floor.

“I thought we were more balanced and solid defensively in the second half,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said.

The victory improves Cowley’s record to 24-7 overall. The Lady Tigers were led by Yankova’s 23 points. Bebe Holloway also played well as she finished the game with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Goodrum added 12 points off the bench, and Whitney Williams controlled the paint with seven blocked shots.

Colby finishes the season with a record of 9-22. Ashley Ming led the Lady Trojans with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Hutchinson, which finished in a tie for second place in the Jayhawk West, one-game behind Barton County, is 27-4 on the season. The Lady Blue Dragons are led in scoring by Heather Robben (14.5 points), while Ariella McGhee averages 13.1 points and 11.1 rebounds.

Hutchinson is out-scoring its opponents by an average of 15 points per game, and is out-rebounding opponents by 10 boards per game.

“They are a well rounded, solid team that typically does not make mistakes,” Clark said. “We are going to have to shoot the ball well and get to the free-throw line.”

Friday’s game can be heard on KSOK 95.9 F.M.

Box score:
Colby (31): Tasha Wagoner 0-2 0-0 0, Jamie Alexander 1-10 0-0 2, Jasmine Gardner 4-11 0-0 11, Danisha Cole 2-14 2-2 6, Ashley Ming 3-6 4-6 10, Jessica Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0, Jaclyn Marshall 0-5 0-3 0, LeAnna Sheaffer 1-1 0-2 2. Totals: 11-50 6-13 31.

Cowley (80): Elena Yankova 9-18 4-4 23, Bebe Holloway 5-7 4-5 14, JaNeil Robinson 2-7 4-6 8, Gabbie Curtis 4-13 1-1 9, Whitney Williams 3-5 0-0 6, Courtney Goodrum 4-8 3-4 12, Kaneesha Lee 2-6 0-1 4, Annalisa Jauregui 0-1 0-0 0, Darby Lupardes 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 31-68 16-21 80.

Three-pointers: Colby 3-16 (Wagoner 0-2, Gardner 3-8, Cole 0-4, Marshall 0-2), Cowley 2-3 (Yankova 1-1, Goodrum 1-1, Lupardes 0-1). Rebounds: Colby 27 (Cole 13), Cowley 50 (Holloway 12). Assists: Colby 6 (Alexander 2), Cowley 17 (Yankova, Curtis, Goodrum 3). Turnovers: Colby 21, Cowley 7. Total fouls: Colby 17, Cowley 10. Fouled out: none. Technicals: Robinson.