Henderson-Johnson shines in Lady Tigers season-opening road win
Playing in her first collegiate game after starring just down the road at Arkansas City High School, Cowley College freshman Saliyah Henderson-Johnson made quite the impression in her debut as the 5’7” guard scored 26 points and filled up the stat sheet in a 73-61 win at Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa on Monday.
Henderson-Johnson finished 11-of-24 from the floor and went 4-of-11 from three-point range, while adding eight steals, seven rebounds, and six assists. However, the thing the Tiger coaching staff was likely most impressed with was the freshman committing only one turnover.
"She had a really good day," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. "I am proud of the way she stepped up."
Cowley led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter before cooling off in the second as they went into halftime with a 28-23 lead.
The Mavericks (0-2) would rally to take a 33-32 lead early in the third quarter. Both teams shot the ball well in the quarter, combining for 45 points, as the Lady Tigers led 51-45 heading into the final quarter of play.
With Cowley holding onto their six-point lead (57-51), the Lady Tigers would put the game away with a 9-0 run.
"Tonkawa had already had a game under their belt, and I didn't feel we matched their intensity, but I was glad we got away with it," Clark said.
Lady Tiger freshman Aniyah Burney from Edmond, OK, also had a strong debut, finishing with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
Sophomore Mallory Jackson finished with nine points, six rebounds, and five assists, with the rest of the scoring coming from the freshmen.
Cowley will remain on the road to play at Redlands Community College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in El Reno, OK, before returning home to take on the Bethany College JV on Friday at 3 p.m.
"It does not get any easier," Clark said. "We need to play tougher and execute a little bit better in order to win another one on the road."
Box score:
Cowley (73): Zuzanna Komor 0-1 0-0 0, Mallory Jackson 4-15 0-2 9, Aniyah Burney 8-10 0-2 17, Megan Simon 4-9 2-4 10, Saliyah Henderson-Johnson 11-24 0-0 26, Kallie Rickards 1-1 0-0 3, Zari Walker 3-7 2-2 8, Naya Burleson 0-0 0-0 0, Savannah Phillips 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 31-69 4-10 73.
NOC (61): No team stats.