Lady Tigers lose defensive battle at Independence, 54-50

With neither team shooting better than 26 percent from the floor, the Cowley College women's basketball team suffered a 54-50 loss at Independence Community College on Wednesday.

The 50 points were a season-low for the Lady Tigers, who are now 10-7 overall and 8-7 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division.

On Wednesday, Cowley led 13-11 after the first quarter of play and stretched its lead to 24-18 before settling for a 27-22 halftime advantage.

Independence would grab its first lead of the second half at 34-33 with 4:19 left in the third quarter, before Cowley would respond with nine straight points to go back in front 42-34 following a pair of free-throws by Ryley Beard.

Taking a 42-37 lead into the fourth quarter, Cowley would hold onto the lead until a basket by Miriam Fernandez gave the Lady Pirates' a 47-46 advantage with 4:15 left to play. Baylee Fincher quickly answered with a basket on the other end to regain a one-point lead for the Lady Tigers.

Another basket by Fernandez put Independence back in front 49-48 with 2:17 remaining. Sophomore Shontrice Austin then answered with a bucket for the Lady Tigers to give Cowley a one-point advantage with 1:35 left, but a scoop shot by Maisa Marcel gave Independence a 51-50 lead with 30 seconds remaining.

After Cowley missed a pair of shots to retake the lead, Marcel made 1-of-2 shots from the foul line to make the score 52-50 with 18.2 seconds left.

With a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line, Austin missed the first free throw and the second free throw was waved off after a lane violation on the Tigers. Marcel would go on to make a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining to seal the 54-50 win.

Cowley has now held fourth quarter leads in five of its seven losses.

"We had plenty of opportunities, we just did not make shots," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said.

Baylee Fincher was the lone Cowley player to score in double figures as she finished with 12 points and nine rebounds on 5-of-16 shooting from the floor.

The trio of Delani Harris (17 points), Maisa Marcel (14 points), and Miriam Fernandez (14 points) combined for 45 of the Lady Pirates' 54 points. Independence made just 1-of-22 three-point attempts and turned the ball over 24 times in the sloppy win.

The Lady Tigers will now prepare to host Neosho County Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Panthers are 4-12 overall and 3-11 in the Jayhawk East.

"We have got to find a way to play better on Saturday," Clark said.

Box score:

Cowley (50): Baylee Fincher 5-16 0-2 12, Jayden Marlnee 1-6 4-4 6, Seanna Boltz 3-12 0-0 8, Kalyne Daniels 2-6 3-3 7, Martyna Kowalska 3-6 0-0 6, Milena Fromming 0-0 0-0 0, Ryley Beard 1-6 3-4 6, Shamara Henderson 0-1 0-0 0, Shontrice Austin 1-5 0-3 2, Teagan Brouwer 1-6 1-2 3. Totals: 17-64 11-18 50.

Indy (54): Mira Khan 0-1 0-0 0, Rapaluchi Ngorka 2-10 1-4 5, Eriel West 0-5 0-0 0, Delani Harris 6-18 4-8 17, Maisa Marcel 4-11 6-8 14, Maddie Curtis 0-3 0-0 0, Destiny Cartwright 1-4 1-2 3, Kaitlyn Rasmussen 0-3 0-0 0, Jasmine Elder 0-1 1-2 1, Miriam Fernandez 5-12 4-5 14, Lauri Cren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-68 17-29 54.

Three-pointers: Cowley 5-25 (Boltz 2-11, Fincher 2-7, Beard 1-5, Daniels 0-1, Henderson 0-1), Indy 1-22 (Harris 1-6, West 0-5, Marcel 0-4, Curtis 0-3, Rasmussen 0-2, Cartwright 0-1, Fernandez 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 46 (Fincher 9), Indy 55 (Ngorka 17). Assists: Cowley 9 (Marlnee 3), Indy 7 (Marcel 3). Turnovers: Cowley 27, Indy 24. Total fouls: Cowley 21, Indy 15. Technicals: Clark, Ngorka.