Lady Tiger basketball team improves to 3-0 with 70-49 win

Building a 28-point halftime lead in its game against the Kansas Wesleyan University JV Friday in Iola, KS, the Cowley College women's basketball team never let its lead fall below double digits the rest of the way in a 70-49 win that improved the Lady Tigers' record to 3-0 on the season.

"It is nice to get the win," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. "I thought our starters came back in and played well down the stretch, but we have got to clean some things up and learn from this."

Cowley sophomore Baylee Fincher hit a three-pointer on the game's opening possession and the Lady Tigers were off and running. A third three-pointer by Fincher forced the Lady Coyotes to call timeout with Cowley leading 14-4 with 6:48 left in the opening quarter.

After back-to-back three-pointers cut Cowley's lead to 14-10, the Lady Tigers answered with a 10-0 run that was capped by Fincher's fourth trey of the quarter. Cowley would go on to lead 29-12 after the first 10 minutes of play.

The Lady Tigers would continue to pour it on, scoring the first 14 points of the second quarter and went into halftime with a commanding 43-15 advantage.

"We started really good offensively and guarded very well in the first half," Clark said.

Fincher led Cowley with 14 first half points, while post player Martyna Kowalska added 11.

Kansas Wesleyan would score the first six points of the second half to cut its deficit to 43-21, before freshman Lexi Rose hit a pair of free throws to stop the run. However, the Lady Coyotes would out-score Cowley 18-11 in the third to cut their deficit to 54-33 heading into the final quarter of play.

A basket by Kansas Wesleyan's Megan Deters, to open the fourth quarter, made the score 54-35. With Cowley struggling offensively, a three-pointer by the Lady Coyotes Hannah Goetz pulled Kansas Wesleyan within 12 (58-46) with 3:55 remaining.

However, Martyna Kowalska's first basket of the second half started a 12-0 run as Cowley went on to the 21-point victory. Kowalska finished 6-of-8 from the floor as she finished with 14 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.

"We did not come out of halftime very well," Clark said. "We finally looked for Martyna inside and stopped settling for perimeter jump shots."

Fincher led all scorers with a season-high 20 points, while sophomore point guard Milena Fromming registered her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.

Freshman Kourtney Kaufman led Kansas Wesleyan with 14 points in the defeat. After shooting only 22 percent in the first half, the Lady Coyotes would go on to shoot 44 percent over the final 20 minutes of play.

Cowley, which forced 30 turnovers in the win, will attempt to remain unbeaten when they host Northern Oklahoma College-Enid Monday at 7:30 p.m.

"NOC-Enid is really good," Clarks said. "They shoot it really well, so we have got to be able to guard better on Monday.

Box score:

KWU (49): Chevelle Ralstin 1-4 6-6 8, Kourtney Kaufman 5-11 0-0 14, Lauren Shaw 2-4 0-0 5, Hannah Goetz 1-4 0-0 2, Mackenzie Sweet 0-1 0-0 0, Bella Willis 0-1 0-0 0, Ja'Daa Wilson 2-7 0-0 4, Megan Deters 5-8 1-2 13, Harley Harris 0-4 0-0 0, Jada Renner 0-2 0-0 0, Megan Foote 0-2 1-2 1, Adet Ring 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 17-52 8-10 49.

Cowley (70): Milena Fromming 4-10 0-0 10, Baylee Fincher 7-19 2-3 20, Carson Dean 0-1 0-0 0, Shamara Henderson 3-7 1-3 8, Martyna Kowalska 6-8 2-4 14, Onnahili Williams 1-1 0-0 2, Callie Scott 2-9 0-4 4, Isis Vieria 0-1 0-0 0, Jana Radovanovic 2-2 1-1 5, Lexi Rose 1-2 2-2 4, Nicolette Perez 0-2 0-0 0, Claire Dodds 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 27-65 8-17 70.

Three-pointers: KWU 7-21 (Kaufman 4-8, Deters 2-3, Shaw 1-1, Willis 0-3, Goetz 0-2, Sweet 0-1, Harris 0-1, Renner 0-1, Foote 0-1), Cowley 8-32 (Fincher 4-13, Fromming 2-8, Henderson 1-3, Dodds 1-3, Scott 0-3, Perez 0-2). Rebounds: KWU 45 (Ralstin 8), Cowley 36 (Kowalska, Fincher 4). Assists: KWU 12 (Deters 3), Cowley 21 (Fromming 10). Turnovers: KWU 30, Cowley 19. Total fouls: KWU 15, Cowley 14. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.