Lady Tigers force 39 turnovers in 95-25 road win

After beating lowly Fort Hays Tech Northwest by 69 points in December, the Cowley College women's basketball team made the trip to Goodland, KS, on Wednesday to complete the season series. The outcome was nearly the same, with Cowley taking down Fort Hays Tech by a score of 95-25.

With the win, Cowley (14-8) moves back over .500 in conference play with a record of 9-8. Fort Hays Tech is now 1-20 overall and 1-16 in the Jayhawk Conference.

Wednesday's game was never a contest as Cowley raced out to a 22-2 lead and led 27-6 after one-quarter of play and 49-10 at the end of the first half.

"We were really solid early, and that helps while playing on the road," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said.

Cowley continued to pour it on in the third quarter as they forced 14 turnovers and out-scored Fort Hays Tech 29-2. Fort Hays Tech would go on to score more points in the fourth quarter than in the first three quarters combined (13-12).

Every player in Cowley's lineup scored in the win, and each but one of them had a steal in the victory.

Freshman Alexcia Murphy led five Cowley players in double figures with a game-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven steals. Sophomore Jaiden Smith added 16 points and hit three of Cowley's 10 three-pointers.

Freshman Mallory Jackson came off the bench to have her most productive game of the season, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, fellow reserve Rafa Bergonso added 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

"Everyone contributed when called upon," Clark said.

Aleighcea Kuntz had eight of Fort Hays Tech's 39 turnovers, as each player on its roster had multiple turnovers in the game.

Cowley will return home to face Colby on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Trojans, coached by former Cowley head coach Darin Spence, are 13-10 overall and one game behind the Tigers in the conference with a record of 8-9.

Cowley lost at Colby by a score of 61-49 on December 7.

"We want to be more competitive than the last time we played them and need to find a way to win at home," Clark said.

Box score:

Cowley (95): Jaiden Smith 6-12 1-2 16, Destiny Yates 1-5 0-0 3, Hattie Pyle 4-7 0-0 9, Alexcia Murphy 9-12 1-1 19, Georgia Knight 4-11 0-0 11, Keturah Stewart 0-9 1-2 1, Mallory Jackson 4-7 1-2 9, Rafa Bergonso 7-12 0-0 16, Elysa Martinez 4-10 3-4 11. Totals: 39-85 7-11 95.

Fort Hays Tech (25): Al'asia Brown 4-9 0-0 9, Miriam Mbulito Upolo 0-2 0-0 0, Sarah Elfrey 1-8 0-0 2, Alba Garrido Lamas 3-8 0-0 8, Traysha Newsome 2-8 0-0 4, Fatima Gloria 0-1 0-0 0, Torrai Logan 0-4 0-0 0, Aleighcea Kuntz 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 11-44 0-0 25.

Three-pointers: Cowley 10-38 (Smith 3-8, Knight 3-8, Bergonso 2-7, Yates 1-4, Pyle 1-3, Martinez 0-4, Stewart 0-2, Murphy 0-1, Jackson 0-1), Tech 3-17 (Lamas 2-4, Brown 1-3, Newsome 0-4, Logan 0-4, Upolo 0-1, Kuntz 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 44 (Jackson 10), Tech 26 (Brown, Kuntz 7). Assists: Cowley 22 (Martinez 5), Tech 8 (Gloria 2). Turnovers: Cowley 6, Tech 39. Total fouls: Cowley 5, Tech 9. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.