November 17, 2008

Lady Tigers win pair of games at Crowder Classic

Taking part in the Crowder Classic Friday and Saturday in Neosho, Mo., the No. 30-ranked Cowley College women’s basketball team came away with a pair of victories to improve to 4-1 on the season.

On Friday, the Lady Tigers faced host Crowder College. Cowley led 31-28 at the end of the first half and maintained a slight advantage throughout the second half of play. However, Crowder’s Afton Baldwin banked in a three-pointer with five seconds left to tie the game at 64-64.

Unaware that the three-pointer tied the game, Crowder’s Melanie Bowers inexplicably intentionally fouled Cowley point guard Dominique English on the inbounds pass, sending English to the free-throw line for two shots. After English made 1-of-2 from the line, Cowley was awarded the basketball due to the intentional foul.

The Lady Tigers got the ball to Gabbie Curtis, who was fouled with 1.3 seconds remaining. Curtis made the first free throw and missed the second. However, Curtis rebounded the miss of the second free throw and made the put back at the buzzer to give Cowley a 68-64 win.

“We didn’t play particularly well, so we were fortunate to get out of town with the win,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said.

Elena Yankova led four Lady Tigers in double figures with 15 points. Whitney Williams finished with 14 points, while English and Bebe Holloway chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Baldwin led Crowder with 19 points, while Kallie Flood hit five three-pointers and finished with 15 points.
Following the hard fought win against Crowder, Cowley had to regroup and get ready to face Lincoln Trail on Saturday.

Leading just 21-19 at the end of the first half, the Lady Tigers outscored Lincoln Trail 45-28 in the second half as they won by a score of 66-47.

“We got some easy looks and lay ups off turnovers in the second half,” Clark said.

Holloway went 10-of-12 from the free-throw line and led Cowley with 20 points. Holloway is averaging 16.8 points per game on the season.

“She’s getting a lot of steals and run outs,” Clark said. “She is also becoming consistent from the free-throw line.”

Curtis added 19 points in the win, and Yankova chipped in with 14 points. Raven Brooks led Lincoln Trail with a game-high 20 points in the defeat.

The Lady Tigers will return to action Tuesday when they travel to Wilburton, Okla. to take on Eastern Oklahoma State College at 6 p.m. The Lady Mountaineers are 3-4 on the season.

Eastern Oklahoma is coming off playing three road games in five days.

“We hope to catch them a little road weary,” Clark said. “It’s a tough place to go to, but we have got to find a way to get it done on the road.”

The game can be heard on KACY 102.5 FM Arkansas City.

Individual scoring Friday vs. Crowder:
Cowley (68): Yankova 15, Williams 14, English 13, Holloway 12, Curtis 6, Kaneesha Lee 4, JaNeil Robinson 2, Darby Lupardes 2.

Crowder (64): Afton Baldwin 19, Kallie Flood 15, Jessica Mitchell 13, Sharece Ward 11, LaMonica Howard 3, Alison Walls 2, Elura Veirs 1.

Individual scoring Saturday vs. Lincoln Trail:
Cowley (66): Holloway 20, Curtis 19, Yankova 14, English 9, Robinson 2, Williams 2.

Lincoln Trail (47): Raven Brooks 20, Ty’Ronda Benning 8, Karee Hall 6, Talisha Davis 6, Apiphany Asbury 5, Laura Sanchez 2.