The Coffeyville Red Raven women perhaps wanted to start the new year a bit differently, dropping its first contest of 2022, 74-51, to the Cloud County Thunderbirds on Wednesday.

The Thunderbirds led almost wire-to-wire. After a brief 6-6 tie, Cloud used a 13-0 run to build a double-digit lead they would never lose. Coffeyville did fight back at times, even winning the second and fourth quarters. However, the team's failure to answer the efforts of three-point ace Makayla Twyman and inside threat Kay Hauata Phillips meant the Ravens could never really get back to threatening the lead.

Wednesday's game did show some positives for the Raven women to build upon. Solid defensive work allowed Coffeyville to force 24 Thunderbird turnovers. Unfortunately, 22 Coffeyville turnovers kept the team from using that work to their advantage.

Faith Simpson was still impressive despite the teams' struggles, scoring 24. Paige Scott added 14. The Red Raven women are now 11-4 on the season, and 5-4 in Jayhawk Conference play. The women will take Saturday off due to health and safety concerns within the Pratt program, but return next Wednesday to take on Seward.