Lady Tigers erupt for 69-point home win

Scoring over 100 points for the fourth time this season, the Cowley College women's basketball team beat up on winless Fort Hays Tech by a score of 113-44 on Wednesday night inside W.S. Scott Auditorium.

Cowley improves its record to 8-2 overall and 3-2 in the Jayhawk Conference, while Fort Hays Tech falls to 0-9 overall and 0-5 in the conference.

On Wednesday, Fort Hays Tech turned the ball over 15 times in the first quarter and shot 0-for-8 from the floor as Cowley led 31-3 after one quarter of play.

"We were really good early and sped them up," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said.

Freshman Alexcia Murphy made her season debut for Cowley and all 10 Lady Tigers scored as Cowley built a 55-22 halftime lead.

Cowley scored 30 first-half points off 24 Fort Hays Tech turnovers.

The Lady Tigers' lead grew to 40 points (76-36) after three quarters of play and Cowley shot 72 percent from the floor (13-of-18) in the fourth quarter as they went on to the 69-point victory.

Sophomore Jaiden Smith went 6-of-12 from three-point range and shared game-high honors with Elysa Martinez as they each scored 20 points.

Hattie Pyle added 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Rafa Bergonso came off the bench to score 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

Murphy, a 5'10 freshman from West Point, GA, made the most of her 21 minutes of playing time, finishing with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

"She is a talent," Clark said. "We are looking forward to getting her in the mix."

Cowley went 14-of-37 from three-point range and has made 29 three-pointers over the past two games.

Miriam Mbulito Upolo led Fort Hays Tech with 11 points.

The Lady Tigers will attempt to remain unbeaten on the road when they play at Colby on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Trojans are 7-4 overall and 2-3 in the conference following a 77-58 win over Cloud County on Wednesday.

"They are coming off a big win, so we need to figure out a way to go there and get a win," Clark said. "We will have our hands full."

Box score:

Fort Hays Tech (44): Al'asia Brown 2-7 4-6 8, Miriam Mbulito Upolo 4-8 0-0 11, Sarah Elfrey 3-9 0-0 6, Alba Garrido Lamas 3-13 2-2 10, Traysha Newsome 0-4 1-2 1, Fatima Gloria 2-3 0-0 4, Torrai Logan 2-7 0-0 4, Aleighcea Kuntz 0-1 0-0 0, Cierra Salas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-52 7-10 44.

Cowley (113): Jaiden Smith 6-15 2-2 20, Destiny Yates 1-9 3-3 5, Hattie Pyle 7-12 3-3 17, Elysa Martinez 8-10 1-1 20, Georgia Knight 2-6 0-0 4, Keturah Stewart 2-5 0-0 4, Mallory Jackson 3-5 0-0 6, Rafa Bergonso 7-11 1-2 18, Alexcia Murphy 4-10 3-3 11, Jamie Molina 2-9 2-2 8. Totals: 42-92 15-16 113.

Three-pointers: Fort Hays Tech 5-20 (Upolo 3-6, Lamas 2-6, Logan 0-4, Brown 0-2, Elfrey 0-1, Gloria 0-1), Cowley 14-37 (Smith 6-12, Martinez 3-4, Bergonso 3-6, Molina 2-5, Yates 0-4, Murphy 0-2, Pyle 0-1). Rebounds: Fort Hays Tech 32 (Elfrey 7), Cowley 47 (Murphy 13). Assists: Fort Hays Tech 7 (Upolo, Newsome 2), Cowley 27 (Martinez 6). Turnovers: Fort Hays Tech 34, Cowley 8. Total fouls: Fort Hays Tech 15, Cowley 8. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.