Three Lady Tigers score 20 or more in 86-81 home win

The victory improves Cowley's record to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the Jayhawk Conference. Cloud (4-4) falls to 0-3 in the conference.

After not scoring in her previous two contests, Lady Tiger freshman Aniyah Burney came off the bench to finish with a season-high 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Fellow freshman Amina Allen, who had scored nine points in three games played this season, came off the bench to score 20 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.

Cowley trailed 13-3 in the early going before pulling within 43-42 at the end of the first half, thanks to Burney and Allen coming off the bench to score in double figures.

Cowley would take a slim 62-61 lead into the final quarter of play, where it was all Allen and Burney as the duo combined for four three-pointers and 14 points during a 16-0 Cowley run, which saw the Lady Tigers turn a 63-62 deficit into a 78-63 advantage.

Allen and Burney combined for 20 fourth-quarter points, and Cowley held on for the five-point win.

"We had several players step up and give us really good minutes," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. "We needed that to earn the hard-fought victory."

Megan Simon scored 11 of her 20 points in the opening half as she finished with her second straight double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds). Mallory Jackson also finished in double figures with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Leila Washington led five Cloud County players in double figures with 19 points, while Shea Wurtz added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Tigers will play at Colby on Saturday at 1. The Trojans are 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference following a 57-51 win at Barton on Tuesday.