March 1, 2010

Neosho County stuns Lady Tigers 70-64

Having beaten Neosho County by 46 points (89-43) four weeks ago, it appeared the Cowley College women’s basketball team would have an easy go of it when they traveled to take on Neosho County Saturday in Chanute.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Cowley had its two-game winning streak come to an end with a 70-64 loss to the Lady Panthers.

Cowley, which has lost four of its last six games, finished in a tie for third place with Independence in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division, with a record of 19-10 overall and 12-6 in the conference. The Lady Tigers will be the Jayhawk East’s second seed in the Region VI Tournament and will host Pratt Community College (4-26) Tuesday at 5 p.m.

On Saturday, Neosho County scored the game’s first eight points before Cowley rallied to grab a 34-32 halftime lead. The Lady Tigers appeared to grab control of the game when they opened a 54-44 lead with just over five minutes remaining, but the Lady Panthers would capitalize on Cowley’s inability to take care of the basketball and outscored the Lady Tigers 26-10 to close out the game.

Neosho County scored 30 points off 21 Cowley turnovers.

“I felt like we had gained control of the game, we just made a lot of mistakes that really cost us,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said.

Bjonee Reaves led Neosho County with 27 points. The 5-foot-7 sophomore did most of her damage from the free-throw line as she went 11-of-17 from the charity stripe. Fellow sophomore Kristin Aldridge added 18 points as the Lady Panthers won for just the fourth time in its last 16 contests. The win also snapped a 17-game losing streak against the Lady Tigers. Neosho County, which is 11-19 overall and 6-12 in the conference, will be the Jayhawk East’s No. 7 seed in the Region VI Tournament.

Cowley got only 26 points from its five starters. Freshman Jasamyne Saunders’ came off the bench to pour in a career-high 29 points and eight rebounds. Saunders went 8-of-16 from the floor and 13-of-16 from the free-throw line.

“She was one of the few players that could get by people and get to the free-throw line,” Clark said.

Kaneesha Lee added 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in the defeat. While, sophomore post player Gianna Woods, who scored a season-high 32 points in the game against Neosho County on Jan. 30, finished with just eight points and four turnovers.

Cowley will attempt to get back on track when they play host to Pratt Community College (4-26) Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the first-round of the Region VI playoffs. Pratt has lost 11 of its last 12 games and has not beaten anyone other than Dodge City, who also finished 4-26, since Jan. 6.

Despite Pratt’s struggles, Clark said his team will need to be ready to play on Tuesday.

“We need to play well because team’s have figured out how to guard us,” Clark said. “We are going to have to fight through some things. Being at home should help.”

Box score:
Cowley (64): Ariani Silva 2-4 0-1 5, Maggie Vieyra 0-2 0-2 0, Kaneesha Lee 3-8 5-6 11, Brianna Gonzalez 0-9 2-2 2, Gianna Woods 2-4 4-5 8, Jasamyne Saunders 8-16 13-16 29, Crystal Allen 0-1 0-0 0, Anna Sonka 2-7 5-6 9. Totals: 17-51 29-38 64.

Neosho County (70): Allison Babcock 0-4 0-0 0, Angela Johnson 4-9 0-2 8, Kristin Aldridge 5-12 8-12 18, Bjonee Reaves 8-20 11-17 27, Cheylene Harper 1-3 0-0 2, Brittany Scott 0-2 2-2 2, Jena Standlee 1-1 0-0 2, Jayme Jackson 0-2 0-0 0, Esperanze Ornelas 1-2 3-4 5, Sydnee Henderson 2-4 0-0 4. Totals: 23-60 24-37 70.

Three-pointers: Cowley 1-10 (Saunders 0-1, Silva 1-3, Gonzalez 0-5, Sonka 0-1), Neosho County 0-11 (Scott 0-2, Babcock 0-3, Reaves 0-5, Henderson 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 44 (Lee 13), Neosho County 38 (Reaves 7). Assists: Cowley 11 (Silva 7), Neosho County 9 (Aldridge, Jackson 3). Turnovers: Cowley 21, Neosho County 15. Total fouls: Cowley 29, Neosho County 29. Fouled out: Saunders, Lee, Allen, Johnson. Technicals: none.