Lady Saints Slip Past Cowley

LIBERAL, Kan. – In an inconsistent game of runs, the No. 14 Seward County women’s basketball team eked out a victory over the Cowley Tigers 70-67 behind Aquila Mucubaquire’s career-high 24 points. The Lady Saints are now 9-2 overall and 3-1 in the Jayhawk Conference.

It wasn’t a hot start for the Lady Saints, as it took nearly five minutes to make their first field goal, coming off a Carla Covane jump shot. Luckily, their defense held the Tigers to just six points over the stretch. After the made bucket, the Lady Saints found their groove, taking a 10-8 lead just over a minute later. Seward continued to score in bunches the rest of the quarter, outscoring Cowley 23-15 to end the first period.

Vonda Cuamba made it a ten-point game three minutes into the second quarter, but another scoreless drought allowed the Tigers to take a 31-30 lead. It took Seward nearly six minutes to find the basket again, but after falling behind one point, the Lady Saints went on a 7-0 run to end the second quarter and take a 37-31 lead into the half.

The Tigers used a 20-point third quarter to tie the game at 51 as the two teams headed to the final quarter. Cowley shot 50 percent from the field in the third, while not attempting a three-point basket, a rarity from a team ranking 9th in the NJCAA in made three-pointers per game. It appeared the game was beginning to slip, as the Tigers took a 51-47 lead with just under two minutes to play, but a 5-0 run tied it to begin the final period of play.

It was a battle the entire fourth quarter of play, with the two teams trading blows. After Seward took a 63-61 lead, the Tigers went on a 6-0 run to take what appeared to be a commanding four-lead. Mucubaquire had other ideas, however, hitting the biggest shot of the game, a three-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to one point. On the next possession, she took a defensive rebound the length of the court to give Seward the lead, 68-67. Two Carla Covane free-throws sealed the victory for the Lady Saints, 70-67.

Seward shot 45.8 percent (27-for-59) from the floor and 35.0 percent (7-for-20) from behind the arc. Cowley connected on 39.7 percent (29-for73) of their shots and just 30.8 percent (4-13) from deep. The four threes tie the least number of threes the Tigers have made in a game all season.

Along with Mucubaquire’s 24 points, Karolina Szydlowska scored 12 points. Carla Covane finished one-point shy of a double-double, scoring 9 points, pulling down nine rebounds.

The Lady Saints will host their final home game of the semester on Saturday (Dec. 15) at 6:00 p.m. against the Coffeyville Red Ravens. Free tickets are available thanks to our sponsor, Billy’s Ayr Lanes. Tickets can be picked up at Billy’s.