Lady Tigers give top-ranked Dodge City a scare before losing 74-60
Playing at No. 1-ranked Dodge City on Saturday, the Cowley College women’s basketball team trailed by only one point (47-46) with two minutes left in the third quarter before the Conquistadors were able to pull away for a 74-60 home win.
Dodge City improves its record to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. Cowley is now 4-3 and 0-1 in the conference.
Despite 14 first-half points from freshman Saliyah Henderson-Johnson, Cowley trailed 21-12 at the end of the first quarter and 39-28 at halftime.
After falling behind by as many as 13 points( 41-28), Cowley pulled within 47-46 following a basket by freshman Megan Simon. However, Dodge City's lead would grow to 55-49 heading into the final quarter of play.
Cowley opened the fourth quarter with a basket by sophomore Mallory Jackson, but that would be as close as the Tigers would get, as Dodge City outscored Cowley 19-11 over the final 10 minutes.
"We battled, but could not get a stop or a score late in the game," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said.
The difference in the contest was the turnover battle, with Cowley turning the ball over 21 times compared to Dodge City's seven turnovers.
Henderson-Johnson finished with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, while Megan Simon added 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Charlie Melksham led Dodge City with 18 points.
Cowley will return home to face Cloud County on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The T-birds are 4-3 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Cloud County's two conference losses have come by a combined eight points.
"We have to bounce back and be ready for Cloud County on Tuesday," Clark said.
Box score:
Cowley (60): Saliyah Henderson-Johnson 9-12 1-1 21, Megan Simon 6-15 1-1 13, Mallory Jackson 5-9 1-6 13, Kallie Rickords 2-7 0-0 6, Zari Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Aniyah Burney 0-0 0-0 0, Abigail Pedruzzi 0-1 2-2 2, Amina Allen 2-7 0-0 5, Naya Burleson 0-0 0-0 0, Yatzel Renteria 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 24-55 5-10 60.
Dodge City (74): Manuela Piljevic 2-5 3-4 7, Jade Celerier 2-6 0-0 4, Jolie Mantz 0-6 4-4 4, Charlie Melksham 8-13 1-2 18, Jordi Perry 2-3 0-0 5, Sofia Ahmed 4-5 1-1 9, Saje Evans 4-10 3-4 12, Morgan Ruff 0-0 0-0 0, Mailey Cunningham 3-4 0-0 8, Savi Mi 3-6 1-2 7. Totals: 28-58 13-17 74.
Three-pointers: Cowley 7-19 (Rickords 2-5, Jackson 2-4, Henderson-Johnson 2-4, Allen 1-5, Renteria 0-1), Dodge City 5-23 (Cunningham 2-2, Evans 1-5, Melksham 1-4, Perry 1-2, Mantz 0-4, Celerier 0-2, Piljevic 0-2, Mi 0-2). Rebounds: Cowley 32 (Simon 15), Dodge City 24 (Perry 7). Turnovers: Cowley 21, Dodge City 7. Total fouls: Cowley 16, Dodge City 14. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.