No. 23-ranked Independence rides big second half to 83-61 win over Lady Tigers

It was a tale of two halves Saturday in Independence. The Cowley College women's basketball team led 33-32 at the end of the first half before the No. 23-ranked Lady Pirates out-scored Cowley 51-28 over the final 20 minutes of play to win 83-61.

Cowley trailed 14-11 at the end of the first quarter and 26-20 midway through the second. However, a three-pointer by freshman Carson Dean capped a 13-6 run to close the half and give the Lady Tigers a one-point (33-32) halftime lead.

Independence would score the first six points of the second half and led 58-49 heading into the final quarter of play. Cowley pulled within 60-54 following a basket by Martyna Kowalska, but the Lady Pirates would out-score Cowley 23-7 to close out the win.

Cowley shot only 28 percent in the second half.

"We really struggled to get going on offense," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. "We couldn't sustain efficient offense, which led to easy baskets for Indy."

Lady Pirate sophomore guard Maisa Marcal filled the stat sheet, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and six steals as Independence (19-4) remained one game in front of Hutchinson for first place in the conference with a record of 15-3.

Cowley failed to get any points from its bench as their reserves were out-scored 19-0.

Baylee Fincher led Cowley with 20 points and five assists, while Carson Dean and Milena Fromming added 17 and 15 points, respectively.

The Lady Tigers are now 13-9 overall and 9-8 in the Jayhawk Conference.

Cowley will face another tough road contest tonight when they play at Butler at 5:30 p.m. in El Dorado, KS. The Lady Grizzlies are 14-7 overall and 9-7 in the Jayhawk Conference.

"We are going to have our hands full again tonight," Clark said. "We are going to have to play with some resiliency on the road."

Box score:

Cowley (63): Milena Fromming 6-8 1-1 15, Baylee Fincher 7-17 3-4 20, Carson Dean 3-8 9-9 17, Shamahra Henderson 0-5 0-0 0, Martyna Kowalska 4-11 1-2 9, Onnahili Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Lorette Chene 0-0 0-0 0, Callie Scott 0-1 0-0 0, Isis Vieria 0-0 0-0 0, Jana Radovanovic 0-1 0-0 0, Lexi Rose 0-4 0-0 0. Totals: 20-55 14-16 61.

Indy (83): Valentina Ojeda 1-5 2-2 4, Delani Harris 6-11 3-5 17, Jill Stephens 1-3 2-2 5, Maisa Marcal 10-18 2-2 23, Mira Khan 6-11 0-0 15, Eriel West 2-7 0-0 4, Miriam Bazylewicz 6-10 2-2 15, Na'Khia Attaway 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 32-65 11-13 83.

Three-pointers: Cowley 7-17 (Fincher 3-8, Fromming 2-3, Dean 2-2, Henderson 0-1, Scott 0-1, Radovanovic 0-1, Rose 0-1), Indy 8-25 (Khan 3-5, Harris 2-5, Marcal 1-6, Stephens 1-3, Bazylewicz 1-1, West 0-4, Ojeda 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 29 (Kowalska 9), Indy 38 (Marcal 11). Assists: Cowley 6 (Fincher 5), Indy 17 (Marcal 7). Turnovers: Cowley 22, Indy 18. Total fouls: Cowley 14, Indy 10. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.