Lady Tigers let road win slip away in overtime loss at Coffeyville

Playing its final game of the first semester, the Cowley College women's basketball team let a nine-point fourth-quarter lead slip away in an 81-73 overtime loss at Coffeyville on Saturday.

Things started well for Cowley as the Lady Tigers led 13-12 after one-quarter of play and extended its lead to 41-32 at the end of the first half.

The Lady Tigers' lead was trimmed to 55-51 heading into the final quarter, but a basket by Mallory Jackson and a three-pointer by Elysa Martinez pushed Cowley's back to 60-51 with 7:54 left to play.

Coffeyville tied the game at 67-67 following a pair of free throws by Karys Washington with 1:05 remaining, and neither team would score again as the game was sent to overtime.

In the extra session, Cowley went in front 71-69 on a three-pointer by Georgia Knight with 3:21 remaining. However, Coffeyville would score 11 straight points to grab control and went on to the eight-point win.

The game featured 14 ties and 16 lead changes. The Lady Tigers (9-4) are now tied with Colby for eighth place in the Jayhawk Conference with a record of 4-4. Coffeyville (10-2) moves into a three-way tie for third place in the conference with a record of 5-2.

Jaiden Smith led Cowley with 13 points, while Hattie Pyle added 12. The Lady Tiger starters shot just 14-of-49 from the floor, while their reserves combined to go 10-of-18. Alexcia Murphy came off the bench to finish with nine points and nine rebounds for the Lady Tigers.

Coffeyville's Norika Welch led all scorers with 27 points, and Washington added 15 points and 14 boards.

Cowley will have time off to get healthy before returning to action at top-ranked Hutchinson Community College on Saturday, January 4, at 2 p.m. The Lady Dragons are 13-0 overall and 7-0 in the Jayhawk Conference.