January 5, 2010

Woods leads Lady Tigers to seventh straight win

Getting a season-high 28 points from sophomore Gianna Woods, the Cowley College women’s basketball team shook off the rust of a three-week layoff to defeat Carl Albert State College 68-51 Monday night at W.S. Scott Auditorium.

The victory avenged an earlier 73-47 loss at Carl Albert on Nov. 21 and runs the Lady Tigers winning streak to seven games.

In the first meeting between the teams, Carl Albert led by 13 at halftime and shot 65 percent in the second half as they coasted to the win. This time around it was Cowley’s turn to shine as they scored the first eight points of the game and led 15-3 just four minutes into the contest.

“I thought we had a good start,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. “We shot it well and were good defensively.”

Woods and fellow sophomore post player, Kaneesha Lee, combined for 24 first half points as Cowley led 37-20 at the end of the first half. The Lady Tigers would lead by as many as 21 points in the second half and the Lady Vikings never cut its deficit to single digits as Cowley went on to the 17-point win.

Woods finished the game by going 13-of-17 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, while Lee added 14 points and nine rebounds.

“Those two are playing better and understanding their roles,” Clark said.

Freshman Anna Sonka (pictured) chipped in 10 points and four assists as Cowley shot 56.3 percent from the floor. Carl Albert shot just 34.5 percent as they dropped to 4-9 on the season. Randi Jerrell and Tiffy Thorton led the Lady Vikings with 11 points apiece.

Cowley, which is now 9-4 on the season, will be back in action at 11 a.m. Friday, as they will attempt to defeat No. 12 ranked Seward County when the teams square off at the Jayhawk Shootout in Coffeyville. The Lady Saints are 13-1 on the season. This will be Seward’s first game since suffering a 69-67 loss to Labette on Jan. 12.

“This will be a huge challenge for us, Seward is a very good team,” Clark said. “We need to play good defensively and hope to cause them some hassles.”

Following the game versus Seward County, Cowley will face Dodge City Sunday at 1 p.m. Dodge City has struggled to a record of 1-12, with three of its 12 losses coming against junior varsity squads.

Friday’s game can be heard on KSOK Radio 1280 AM, while Sunday’s game will be broadcast on KSOK Radio 95.9 FM.

Box score:
Carl Albert (51): Taylor Cawhorn 1-4 0-0 3, Celeste Key 3-5 0-0 6, Randi Jerrell 4-14 0-0 10, Katie BenAmor 2-8 1-2 6, Tiffy Thorton 5-7 0-0 10, Ashley Scroggins 0-1 0-0 0, Tara Allison 0-3 0-0 0, Whitni Doherty 2-5 2-4 8, Candice Menefee 1-5 1-1 3, Brittany Johnson 1-3 3-4 5. Totals: 19-55 7-11 51.

Cowley (68): Ariani Silva 1-2 0-0 3, Kaneesha Lee 6-10 2-6 14, Maylisa Johnson 3-5 0-0 6, Anna Sonka 3-7 2-2 10, Gianna Woods 13-17 2-2 28, Jasamyne Saunders 0-3 4-4 4, Crystal Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Brianna Gonzalez 1-4 0-0 3. Totals: 27-48 10-14 68.

Three-pointers: Carl Albert 6-19 (Cawhorn 1-3, Jerrell 2-7, BenAmor 1-2, Scroggins 0-1, Allison 0-2, Doherty 2-2, Menefee 0-2), Cowley 4-12 (Silva 1-2, Johnson 0-1, Sonka 2-5, Gonzalez 1-4). Rebounds: Carl Albert 23 (Key 5), Cowley 29 (Lee 9). Assists: Carl Albert 5 (Cawhorn 2), Cowley 18 (Silva 7). Turnovers: Carl Albert 14, Cowley 14. Total fouls: Carl Albert 16, Cowley 10. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.