Lady Tigers return to action with 75-54 road win

The Cowley College women's basketball team shook off the rust of a three-week absence by winning 75-54 at Colby Community College on Wednesday.

The Lady Tigers scored the first eight points of Wednesday's game and never trailed in the 21-point road win.

"It is a long trip to Colby," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. "It was a little sloppy, but I am pleased with the win."

Cowley led by as many as 15 points (19-4) in the opening quarter before settling for a 22-10 lead heading into the second quarter of play. The Trojans out-scored Cowley 12-11 in the second period as they went into halftime trailing 33-22.

Colby would pull within 40-31 following a made free-throw by Peyton Pinkney with 2:25 left in the third quarter. However, Cowley would close the quarter on an 8-1 run to extend its lead to 48-32.

"Anna (Przyszlak) had a big bucket near the end of the third quarter that helped us stretch the lead," Clark said.

The Lady Tigers would score 27 fourth-quarter points and cruised to the 21-point road win. The victory snapped a three-game skid for the Lady Tigers, improving their record to 8-7 overall and 3-6 in the Jayhawk Conference. Colby (1-13) has lost 13 games in a row since its season-opening win against Northeastern Junior College.

Przyszlak tied a season-high with 15 points to go along with nine rebounds. Baylee Fincher had a tough shooting night but finished with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds as Cowley out-rebounded Colby 43-25. Fincher also added six assists.

"I am really pleased with the way we rebounded the basketball," Clark said.

Lady Tiger sophomore Lorette Chene also played well as she came off the bench to score a season-high eight points on 3-of-3 shooting from the floor.

Colby's Aaliyah Chambers led all scorers with 26 points, but the Trojans could not overcome its rebounding deficit and 31 turnovers.

Cowley will now prepare to host Butler Community College (10-3) Saturday at 1 p.m. The Lady Grizzlies are 6-3 in the conference and are led by 6'3" freshman Freddie Wallace, who averages 17.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

"Butler is very physical. We will need to play well," Clark said.

Box score:

Cowley (75): Gracie Gilpin 5-11 2-2 14, Baylee Fincher 3-12 6-6 13, Carson Dean 3-16 4-4 11, Shamahra Henderson 3-8 0-2 7, Anna Przyszlak 6-7 3-4 15, Stasia Duque 0-1 0-0 0, Onnahili Williams 0-2 1-2 1, Lorette Chene 3-3 0-0 8, Jana Radovanovic 1-1 0-0 2, N'dack Mbengue 0-2 4-6 4.

Colby (54): Jayla Sample 2-7 3-6 7, Carla Felix 0-3 1-2 1, Peyton Pinkney 4-12 2-4 12, Aaliyah Chambers 9-19 7-10 26, Ileah Beh 1-1 0-0 2, Aryanna Perez 0-4 0-0 0, Kali Snow 3-4 0-0 6, Dreasha Talley 0-0 0-2 0. Totals: 19-50 13-24 54.

Three-pointers: Cowley 7-34 (Gilpin 2-7, Chene 2-2, Dean 1-9, Fincher 1-8, Henderson 1-5, Przyszlak 0-1, Duque 0-1, Williams 0-1), Colby 3-15 (Pinkney 2-4, Chambers 1-4, Sample 0-3, Perez 0-3, Snow 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 43 (Fincher 10), Colby 25 (Sample 8). Assists: Cowley 15 (Fincher 6), Colby 7 (Felix, Pinkney, Chambers 2). Turnovers: Cowley 29, Colby 31. Total fouls: Cowley 17, Colby 21. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.