Web posted
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Lady Tigers overcome sluggish start
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Photo by James Jordan
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By DAVID WOLMAN
Traveler Sports Editor
sports@arkcity.net
The first step to the Region VI title for the Cowley College women's basketball turned into a rout by the second half. Now comes the hump that has stood in the way for the Lady Tigers the last four seasons: the second round of the playoffs.
Cowley advanced to the second round of the Region VI Tournament after a 70-52 drubbing of Garden City on Wednesday night at W.S. Scott Auditorium. The Lady Tigers advanced to Friday's 5 p.m. second-round game at Koch Arena against Seward County, who handled Allen County 81-48. Garden City finished the season 11-20.
Cowley has not won in the second round of the tournament since the 2002-03 season.
Coach Todd Clark hopes that last night's win will spark the Lady Tigers and end their string of second-round failures.
"We've been close a couple of times," he said. "I don't have an answer. It's a one-game deal. I think this group is excited and wants to win. Whoever we play in Wichita is going to be good. So, we have to bring our best basketball."
One area that Clark seeks improvement on if his team is to have success in Wichita is turnovers. The Lady Tigers overcame 18 turnovers in Wednesday's win.
"I was a little disappointed with the way we turned the ball over," Clark said. "But we were playing so fast because Garden City plays so fast. You're going to make errors, that's part of it. If we can play at a slower pace, we'll be much better."
Other than that aspect, there wasn't too much to complain about last night.
Early on, the one thing that concerned Clark the most about coming into the game buried the Lady Tigers into an early hole. Garden City's three-point shooting. Katie Novack connected on two early three-pointers, helping Garden City jump out to an 11-6 lead.
Novack (12 points) was the only Lady Bronc Buster to finish in double figures.
But Cowley (20-11) tightened up on the defensive end, especially on the perimeter. Garden City was limited to one shot on many of its possessions in the final 10 minutes of the first half.
Domination was an understatement for the Lady Tigers efforts on the boards, as they finished with a 45-23 rebounding advantage.
"I thought that we had rebounded a lot better than earlier (in the game)," Clark said. "I was concerned early because I thought they got a couple of second chances. They shoot from three-point line and there were some long rebounds, and they were able to track those down."
That sparked Cowley's transition game.
Lauren Cherry and Gabbie Curtis then spearheaded a 22-4 run to close out the first half. Curtis made a transition layup for a 14-12 Cowley lead with 9:26 remaining before intermission.
"(Clark) told us, starting in practice yesterday that we had to push the ball because they're going to be playing hard and want this game more than we do," Curtis said. "We were wanting to get some easy baskets and some easy layups."
That the Lady Tigers did.
Cherry stepped her came to a new level last night, especially on the offensive end. She finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Whether it was deep jumper or a short putback, she found her shot last night. She hit a bank-shot jumper late in the first half for Cowley's first double-digit lead, 23-12, on the night.
"She was really impressive," Clark said. "I think she's looking for her shot more."
"Bebe" Holloway was also a force on the boards, finishing with a game-high 14 rebounds, in addition to 12 points. Curtis finished with a game-high 21 points. She also made a living on the defensive end, hounding the passing lanes to record seven of Cowley's 14 steals.
Garden City was held scoreless for a span of over eight minutes in the first half. Jessica Copeland finally broke the drought, draining a three-pointer with 1:51 remaining before halftime. The Lady Tigers led 28-15 at intermission.
Three-point shooting had been Garden City's trademark this season. While the Lady Bronc Busters made 10 three-pointers, they finished shooting only 30.6 percent in their season-ending loss.
Cowley's offense, meanwhile, shined throughout the game. After shooting 46.4 percent in the first half, the floodgates opened in the second half. Cowley shot 16-of-32 in the second half, finishing at a 48.3-percent clip.
Cherry hit a transition jumper for a 20-point lead. Elena Yankova capped off the win with a layup off a steal with just over three minutes remaining.
It was a final curtain call to a stretch of dominating play in the final two months at W.S. Scott Auditorium for the Lady Tigers, who won their final 10 home games.
Box score:
Garden City -- Novack 4-11 4-10 12; Young 3-12 2-3 9; L. Brown 4-7 0-0 8; Copeland 2-10 0-0 6; A. Brown 2-7 0-0 6; Durler 2-4 0-0 4; Schmitt 1-7 0-0 3; Burnet 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 19-62 2-3 50.
Cowley -- Curtis 8-14 5-6 21; Cherry 8-13 3-6 19; Holloway 4-8 4-5 12; Yankova 4-10 0-1 8; Jackson 2-3 0-0 5; Williams 2-7 0-2 4; Wright 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 29-60 13-22 72.
Halftime -- Cowley 28, Garden City 15. Three's -- Garden City 10-31 (Novack 4, Copeland 2, A. Brown 2, Young, Schmitt); Cowley 1-3 (Jackson). Rebounds -- Garden City 23 (Schmitt 7); Cowley 45 (Holloway 14). Assists -- Garden City: 8 (A. Brown 2, Schmitt 2, L. Brown 2); Cowley: 22 (Yankova 6).
Above: Cowley College freshman "Bebe" Holloway, left, looks for an open teammate Wednesday during the first round of the Region VI Tournament at W.S. Scott Auditorium.
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