Lady Tigers get back in the win column with a 61-39 victory at Pratt

The victory improves the Lady Tigers' overall record to 11-13. Cowley remains in ninth place in the conference with a record of 7-11.

After falling behind 7-0 to start Wednesday's game, the Lady Tigers outscored Pratt 15-2 to take a 15-9 lead after one quarter of play.

The Beavers, losers of 15 games in a row, pulled within 22-18 on a basket by Polla Balint with 5:04 left before halftime, but Cowley would go on to make four 3-point attempts and finished the second quarter on a 15-2 run to lead 37-20.

A three-pointer by freshman Aniyah Burney to open the second half increased Cowley's lead to 20 points, and the Lady Tigers were never threatened the rest of the way in the 22-point road win.

Making her second straight start, freshman Yatzel Renteria finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Renteria is averaging 13.5 points per game over the past two contests and is shooting 5-of-8 from three-point range.

Cowley finished 9-of-31 from three-point range, while the Beavers made just 2-of-19 three-point attempts.

Burney led all scorers with 20 points, while adding five rebounds and four steals.

Sophomore Mallory Jackson added 15 points and eight boards.

"This was a good team road win," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. "We had several players contribute."

Pratt (6-18) falls to 2-17 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Beavers shot just 26.8 percent from the floor, 10.5 percent from beyond the arc, and only 46.7 percent from the free-throw line. Couple that with 25 turnovers, and you get a 22-point home loss.

Balint was the only Pratt player to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points.

Cowley will face another struggling team on the road when they play at Fort Hays Tech Northwest on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Goodland, KS. Fort Hays Tech is 2-22 overall and 2-16 in conference play.

"We are hoping to continue to improve," Clark said.

Box score:

Cowley (61): Braylee Reed 0-2 0-0 0, Mallory Jackson 5-14 2-2 15, Aniyah Burney 8-20 2-2 20, Naya Burleson 2-4 0-0 5, Yatzel Renteria 4-6 0-0 10, Zuzanna Komor 0-3 0-0 0, Zari Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Kiersylnn Waggoner 0-0 0-0 0, Makenna Justus 0-2 0-0 0, Megan Simon 1-7 4-4 6, Saliyah Henderson-Johnson 2-8 0-0 5. Totals: 22-67 8-8 61.

Pratt (39): Tiffany Singleton 2-7 0-0 5, Emilia Borissova 0-10 0-0 0, Kalani Brock 2-9 2-2 7, Polla Balint 4-10 2-4 10, Daniella Zamora 3-7 1-5 7, Analia Loera 0-1 0-0 0, Zaprina Percy 0-1 0-0 0, Breanna Reeves 2-5 1-2 5, Ameriah Pitts 1-5 1-2 3, Amira Pierre-Jerome 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 15-56 7-15 39.

Three-pointers: Cowley 9-31 (Jackson 3-9, Burney 2-8, Renteria 2-2, Henderson-Johnson 1-4, Burleson 1-2, Justus 0-2, Komor 0-2, Walker 0-1, Reed 0-1), Pratt 2-19 (Singleton 1-6, Brock 1-3, Borissova 0-6, Reeves 0-2, Loera 0-1, Balint 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 45 (Renteria 9), Pratt 36 (Zamora 9). Assists: Cowley 11 (Henderson-Johnson 4), Pratt 11 (Borissova 4). Turnovers: Cowley 22, Pratt 25. Total fouls: Cowley 16, Pratt 10. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.