Lady Tigers send the sophomores out with a home win

The victory evens Cowley's record at 15-15 overall as they finish in a tie for eighth place in the Jayhawk Conference with a mark of 11-13. The Lady Tigers earned the ninth seed in the First Round of the Region VI Playoffs and will play at the eighth-seeded Garden City on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Cowley head coach Todd Clark was happy to send the sophomores out with a win in their final home game and was impressed with the large crowd on hand for Community Night.

"This was a huge win for us, and it was fun to play in front of a great crowd," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said.

On Wednesday, Cowley got nine first-quarter points from sophomore Mallory Jackson to lead 20-18 after one quarter of play.

The Lady Tigers would get a big lift from their bench in the second quarter as Yatzel Renteria and Makenna Justus scored the final seven points of the half to help Cowley to a 34-29 advantage.

Barton's 6'5 freshman Mary Akinde had a double-double in the first half with 14 points and 10 rebounds to help keep the Cougars within striking distance.

Cowley would maintain the lead throughout the third quarter and went into the final quarter of play with a 53-46 advantage.

Holding on to a slim, 59-55 lead with 4:39 remaining, the Tigers would use an 11-1 run to seize control in the 16-point win.

Playing her final home game, Jackson led Cowley with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Jackson is averaging 15.7 points over her last seven contests.

"Mallory has improved as a player during her two years here, and we are excited to see what she does at her next school," Clark said.

Freshman Aniyah Burney added 16 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, and Saliyah Henderson-Johnson chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Zuzana Komor, the other sophomore playing her final home game, helped Cowley get 16 points from its bench. Reserves Komor, Renteria, Justus, and Zari Walker combined to shoot 7-of-12 from the floor.

"We had a lot of people come in and give us good minutes," Clark said. "Those kids stepped up."

Akinde finished with 18 points and 19 rebounds, but Barton shot only 32.3 percent in the defeat.

Barton falls to 14-16 overall and finished in a tie for sixth place in the conference with a record of 12-12.

Cowley and Garden City split a pair of games in the regular season. The winner on Saturday will advance to the Second Round of the Region VI Tournament, while the loser will have its season come to an end.

"We have grown a bit and hope to find a way to get a win on Saturday," Clark said.

Box score:

Barton (59): Regina Donanu 6-13 1-2 17, Alaina Eck 0-6 0-2 0, Mersadie Spray 3-10 2-2 9, Mary Akinde 6-15 6-10 18, Christal Long 0-5 1-2 1, Fortunate Emechete 0-0 0-0 0, Keyona Hall 1-2 1-1 3, Kodi Greer 3-9 0-0 9, Bryndal Moody 1-2 0-0 2, Kaosarra Yunus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-62 11-19 59.

Cowley (75): Mallory Jackson 6-10 4-5 18, Aniyah Burney 7-20 2-4 16, Naya Burleson 1-4 0-0 3, Megan Simon 4-9 2-2 10, Saliyah Henderson-Johnson 5-7 1-2 12, Zuzanna Komor 1-3 0-0 2, Zari Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Makenna Justus 1-2 0-0 3, Yatzel Renteria 3-4 0-0 7. Totals: 30-62 9-13 75.

Three-pointers: Barton 8-23 (Donanu 4-6, Greer 3-8, Spray 1-4, Eck 0-4, Moody 0-1), Cowley 6-22 (Jackson 2-5, Henderson-Johnson 1-2, Justus 1-2, Renteria 1-2, Burney 0-7, Komor 0-1). Rebounds: Barton 35 (Akinde 19), Cowley 34 (Henderson-Johnson 9). Assists: Barton 12 (Long 6), Cowley 17 (Burney 8). Turnovers: Barton 17, Cowley 13. Total fouls: Barton 16, Cowley 17. Fouled out: none. Technicals: Cowley.