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Visitors seize control
Visiting Cowley started the second half of play by hitting nine of its first 10 shots from the field, overcoming a seven-point deficit and going on to a 65-55 win over Fort Scott Community College's women in Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division play at Arnold Arena Saturday afternoon.
Cowley's switch to a full-court press played a part early on as the Greyhounds had trouble getting into the front court. The Tigers (6-2 in the East, 11-9 overall) used the turnovers, defensive rebounds and hot shooting to go on a 17-9 run that put them in front, 39-34, with 13:31 remaining.
The Greyhounds (3-5, 10-7), who used just six players, fought back to the the game twice more. A three-point goal by Kenya Doss and a hook shot by Brittney English tied the score at 39-39. Doss' three-pointer tied it one last time at 43-43 with 10:18 left.
Cowley, however, scored nine of the next 10 points and was able to maintain a good cushion the rest of the way. The closest Fort Scott got again was 57-53 after English hit a pair of free throws with 3:18 to go.
In a game that started sluggishly, Fort Scott's defense led the way, holding Cowley to just 18-percent field-goal shooting in the first half (seven of 40).
A 13-2 run put the Greyhounds ahead, 20-11, with 6:09 left in the half. It was 25-18 at the half.
However, Cowley's shooting percentage took a complete U-turn in the second half, as the Tigers ended up going 19 of 26 (73 percent) in the last 20 minutes of play while Fort Scott fell to nine of 29 (31 percent) after going 10 of 24 (42 percent) in the first half.
Doss, who hit on six of 10 three-point attempts, led the Greyhounds with 21 points. English added 16 while Leondra Doomes-Stephens contributed 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
Elena Yankova led Cowley with 21 points. Whitney Williams added 15 and Gabrielle Curtis finished with 12.
For the game, Fort Scott shot 36 percent from the field on 19 of 53 while Cowley shot 39 percent on 26 of 66.
Cowley outrebounded Fort Scott, 37-33, for the game after posting a 29-18 advantage on the boards in the first half. Shirolacille Holloway had 17 rebounds for the Tigers while Lauren Cherry hauled down 10.
The 'Hounds committed 13 turnovers to Cowley's 12.
The Greyhounds go to Kansas City Kansas Community College Wednesday as they finish the first time through the double-round robin division schedule. The second round begins Saturday when Fort Scott hosts Coffeyville at 2 p.m. at Arnold Arena.
NOTES -- The 11 rebounds were a personal best for Doomes-Stephens. Her previous high was nine against Neosho County on Jan. 16....
Katrina Colwell, a graduate of Fort Scott High School, is now an assistant coach at Cowley. Last year, she was the head coach at Labette, guiding the Cardinals to a 17-14 record in her only season there....
Games against Division II schools Johnson County and Highland aren't included for seeding purposes in the Region VI Tournament, which begins in March. That takes away a loss at Johnson County but also removes a win at Highland, leaving Fort Scott with a 2-4 record for seeding purposes.
Kansas City, Wednesday's opponent, is also 2-4, which makes that game a key matchup. The winner gets a tie-breaker advantage, at least for the time being. Both teams are tied for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Division, two games behind Cowley.
If the season ended today, the No. 5 seed would go to Seward County, which is 14-7. The No. 6 seed would have to travel to Barton County, which is 20-2.
Both Fort Scott and KCK have played Barton this season. Kansas City lost, 80-30, at the Jayhawk Conference Shootout in Coffeyville on Nov. 30. Fort Scott lost to the Cougars, 78-66, at Arnold Arena on Dec. 29.
Neither the 'Hounds nor the Blue Devils have faced Seward County this season.
If either team can move into the No. 4 position, things change drastically. Instead of a road game against a tough team, they'd be at home against a Western Division team with a sub-.500 record....
COWLEY: Yankova 7-16 7-8 21, Holloway 3-11 2-8 8, Robinson 2-4 0-0 5, Wright 1-2 0-0 2, Curtis 6-17 0-0 12, Williams 6-9 3-6 15, Cherry 1-6 0-0 2, Haynes 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 26-66 12-22 65.
FORT SCOTT: Doomes-Stephens 4-12 2-4 12, Chaney 0-5 0-0 0, Bowles 1-5 2-5 4, Doss 7-14 1-2 121, Lawrence 1-1 0-0 2, English 6-16 4-6 16. TOTALS: 19-53 9-17 55.
Halftime: Fort Scott, 25-18.
Three-point field goals: Cowley 1-9 (Robinson 1-1, Cherry 0-1, Haynes 0-1, Yankova 0-2, Curtis 0-4), Fort Scott 8-21 (Doss 6-10, Doomes-Stephens 2-7, Chaney 0-4).
Total fouls: Cowley 13, Fort Scott 15. Fouled out: none. Technical foul: Fort Scott bench.
Rebounds: Cowley 37 (Holloway 17, Cherry 10), Fort Scott 33 (Doomes-Stephens 11). Assists: Cowley 9 (Yankova 4), Fort Scott 5 (Chaney 3). Turnovers: Cowley 12, Fort Scott 13. Steals: Cowley 8 (Holloway 3, Curtis 3), Fort Scott 5 (Doomes-Stephens 2, English 2). Blocked shots: Cowley 1 (Williams), Fort Scott 1 (Bowles).