December 1, 2008

Lady Tigers go 1-1 at Garden City Classic

Coming up just short in a 63-60 loss against a tough Seward County squad Saturday in Garden City, the Cowley College women’s basketball team split a pair of games at the Garden City Classic. The loss to Seward snapped the Lady Tigers’ seven game winning streak.

On Friday, Cowley shot 55.4 percent in a 71-55 win over host Garden City. However, 27 turnovers against Seward on Saturday did in the Lady Tigers.

“If you are going to turn the ball over that many times you are not going to win,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. “We have got to get a handle on how to take care of the ball better.”

Coming off a game-high 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the win over Garden City, sophomore point guard Dominique English made 8-of-12 shots en route to 18 points against Seward County. However, English turned the ball over 17 times in the defeat.

Cowley’s top-two scorers on the season, Bebe Holloway and Elena Yankova, were held to a combined 15 points on 6-of-26 shooting against the Lady Saints.

Still, Cowley rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to trail just 61-60 after a three-pointer by Gabbie Curtis with 28 seconds remaining. After a pair of free throws by Seward County stretched the Lady Saints’ lead to 63-60, Yankova misfired on a three-point attempt at the buzzer.

Curtis had a solid game in the defeat as she scored 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. Sophomore post player Whitney Williams also played well as she finished with eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

“Whitney and Gabbie both played well on the weekend,” Clark said.

Against Garden City on Friday, Cowley built a 16-point halftime lead (40-24) and coasted to the victory. The Lady Tigers had four players score in double figures, and forced the Lady Broncbusters into 23 turnovers.

Cowley is now 8-2 on the season. The loss dropped Garden City’s record to 6-6 overall, while Seward County improved to 7-1.

The Lady Tigers will now prepare to take part in the Jayhawk Shootout this weekend in Coffeyville. Cowley will play Cloud County Friday at 1 p.m., and will then face Butler Community College Sunday at 5 p.m.
“We are going to have to step it up and play quite a bit better,” Clark said.

Box score from Friday:
Cowley (71): Elena Yankova 7-17 3-4 17, Dominique English 9-10 3-6 21, Bebe Holloway 6-9 0-1 12, Gabbie Curtis 5-11 1-3 11, Whitney Williams 3-6 0-0 6, Courtney Goodrum 0-0 1-2 1, Kaneesha Lee 1-2 0-0 2, JaNeil Robinson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 31-56 9-18 71.

Garden City (55): Cheree Freeman 6-15 0-0 16, Aubany Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Tynisha Allen 2-6 0-2 5, Artavia Jackson 3-5 1-2 7, LaMesia Abbott 5-12 0-0 11, Amelia Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Janel Durler 1-2 0-0 2, Katie Novack 3-7 2-2 11, Deirdre Mays 1-4 1-3 3. Totals: 21-55 4-9 55.

Three-pointers: Cowley 0-1 (Yankova 0-1), Garden City 9-21 (Freeman 4-8, Thomas 0-1, Allen 1-2, Abbott 1-5, Jones 0-1, Durler 0-1, Novack 3-3). Rebounds: Cowley 35 (Holloway 9), Garden City 34 (Durler, Mays 6). Assists: Cowley 6 (English 4), Garden City 11 (Thomas 3). Turnovers: Cowley 13, Garden City 23. Fouls: Cowley 11, Garden City 17. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.

Box score from Saturday:
Seward (63): Vaneza Junior 5-6 0-0 11, Bailey Crandall 2-5 0-0 6, Sheila Washington 0-2 2-2 2, Reagan Brodie 1-1 2-2 4, LaNell Taylor 2-11 0-0 6, Megan Lassley 2-7 4-6 9, Vannessa Simmons 4-10 0-1 8, Rachel Barnes 3-9 4-6 10, Amanda Pierson 1-6 3-4 5, Nadia Rosario 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 21-62 15-21 63.

Cowley (60): Elena Yankova 2-10 0-0 4, Dominique English 8-12 2-2 18, Bebe Holloway 4-16 3-4 11, Gabbie Curtis 7-8 1-2 17, Whitney Williams 2-5 4-5 8, Courtney Goodrum 1-2 0-0 2, Kaneesha Lee 0-1 0-0 0, JaNeil Robinson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 24-55 10-13 60.

Three-pointers: Seward 6-21 (Junior 1-2, Crandall 2-4, Taylor 2-8, Lassley 1-4, Simmons 0-1, Barnes 0-2), Cowley 2-6 (Yankova 0-3, Goodrum 0-1, Curtis 2-2). Rebounds: Seward 38 (Taylor 7), Cowley 41 (Williams 13). Assists: Seward 12 (Rosario 3), Cowley 7 (English 3). Turnovers: Seward 18, Cowley 27. Total fouls: Seward 14, Cowley 18. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.