Both Coffeyville teams overcame a particularly difficult challenge Saturday, with the women defeating Cowley 82-68 and the men claiming their 13th win at 107-85.
Saturday's games were a perfect chance for both teams to show off their defensive capabilities. Cowley's women averaged 85 points a game and didn't seem to deviate from their typical gameplan against the Red Ravens. Pressuring off of every rebound and inbounds pass, the Tigers hounded Coffeyville and actually did force several turnovers. However, Coffeyville seemed to adjust to the aggression, and soon were finding easy buckets off of solid ball-handling and quick passes up the floor. Freshman guard Paige Scott also caught fire from outside, hitting three 3-pointers in the first quarter to really push Coffeyville ahead. Winning both quarters, Coffeyville took a 36-27 lead at the half.
Out of the locker rooms, Coffeyville would find its most success, with Faith Simpson and Martina Aeschliman working inside to give Coffeyville an advantage both inside and out. Coffeyville would slowly, yet surely, pull away, and eventually claimed the 14-point victory. Scott led all scorers with 18, with Simpson and Aeschliman also scoring 13 apiece. Amiya Josey also reached double-digits with 11. Coffeyville improves to 8-2 on the season and 7-2 in Jayhawk Conference play. They've now won five consecutive games.
The men's contest featured two nationally ranked programs, with Coffeyville coming in at #2 and Cowley ranked at #15. Much like the Cowley women before them, the Tigers came out with a full-court press, although the Ravens never seemed to be truly bothered by it. The spread-out nature of the Cowley defense meant shots opened up inside, with freshman Blaise Keita and freshman Hayden Brittingham being the early beneficiaries scoring-wise. Although Cowley would go on a small run to end the half, Coffeyville would take a 49-42 lead into the break.
Things would become a little more interesting in the second half, as Coffeyville racked up several fouls and started to tire out, meaning the Cowley pressure found more success. The Tigers would bring the game back to within two at 62-60, but that was as close as they'd get for the rest of the game. The Ravens found their stride and immediately pushed the lead back to 10, and then pushed it even further out to eventually reach triple-digits and claim the 22-point victory. Brittingham and sophomore guard Tylor Perry led all scorers with 17, but three other Ravens joined them in double-digits, including Love Bettis (13), Blaise Keita (12), and Bostyn Holt (11). The Coffeyville men are now 13-0 and 11-0 in conference play.
It'll be a Montgomery County showdown next Wednesday, as the Red Ravens travel to Independence for a matchup with the Pirates. The women will tip-off at 5:00 pm, with pregame starting 15 minutes prior on US98.1, KUSN.
