Womens Basketball

Kite Named Region II Director

Connors State women’s basketball coach Eddie Kite has been named the Region II Women’s Director.

Kite, who has been head coach of the Cowgirls for 11 years, is one of 16 NJCAA Region Directors across the United States and is only the third CSC staff member to serve in the position.

 Former Athletic Director Ed Hardeman, served in the position for 25 years and former Cowgirls women’s basketball coach and Athletic Director Monte Madewell for 20 years.

Kite assumed the position in December, replacing Jason Carmichael of Mid-South Community College in West Memphis, Ark., who took a position as assistant Athletic Director at Western Colorado University. Kent Lashley of Rose State will serve as Kite’s assistant.

“Connors has a pretty good tradition of leadership in athletics with Hardeman, Madewell and now myself and Bill (Muse, Cowboys head coach and Athletic Director) as president of the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference for the past five years,” said Kite.

“In our region it’s kind of been a tradition to serve in those positions. It’s a position that I look forward to serving for the betterment our region and for Connors State,” said Kite.

The duties of the Region II Director is extensive, involving all 11 schools that make-up Region II in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Kite will assist in coordinating all Region II athletic events. He will also serve as a liaison between the coaches, umpires in softball and officials in basketball.

“In this position I will have my finger prints on everything,” said Kite. Some of the duties also includes taking surveys and rankings for Region II sports and forwarding them to the NJCAA national office.

“There is a lot involved, which includes administrating discipline issues of players and coaches, such as ejections at athletic events.”

Kite said one of his first tasks was assisting in the Region II basketball tournament at Shawnee and the renewing of the contract for the next three years at Shawnee.

“This is a very detailed position and one of the good things about this is that my assistant coach, Jamie (Fisher) is very organize. He lifts a little of the burden off my shoulders with our own basketball program,” said Kite, adding, “that allows me to focus a little more on the new duties.”

Kite will leave next Wednesday to attend the NJCAA National Convention representing the Region II schools, where he serves on several committees.

“There is a lot involved in the position, a lot more than I really realized,” said Kite. “But being a coach I think it will help our Region as far as pushing for national ranking’s and national prestigious.”

Cowgirls Fall in Opening Round of Region II Play

Connors State Cowgirls held an 11-point lead midway the second half, but could not hold on as Arkansas Baptist rallied behind the 29-point performance of Taylor Green for a 63-59 victory in the opening round of the NJCAA Region II Basketball Tournament at Melvin Self Field House Monday night.

The Cowgirls complete the season 16-14, while Arkansas Baptist advances to a quarterfinal game in Shawnee on Thursday against Northeastern A&M.

Poor free throw shooting and the in ability to hit from behind the arc doomed the Cowgirls. Connors was just 18-of-33 at the line and was 1 of-10 on three-point attempts.

Connors held a 35-24 advantage with 15:51 remaining, but the Lady Buffs came roaring back to get the win.

Tiara Hall and Shakayla Love scored 16 points each to lead the Cowgirls scoring. Tonisha Dean followed with 11.

The last Cowgirls lead in the game was 59-58 with 1:26 remaining.

Cowgirls went on a 7—0 run in the final 3:54 of the first half to take a 25-22 lead. Connors took its first lead with 50 seconds remaining in the half when Tonisha Dean drained the front end of a two-shot free throw to give the Cowgirls a 23-22 lead.

Miscues hurt the Cowgirls in the first half as they committed 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action. Shakayla Love came off the bench to lead the Cowgirls scoring in the half with 8 points.

NJCAA REGION II Tournament First ROUND

WOMEN

ARKANSAS BAPTIST 63, CONNORS STATE 59

Arkansas Baptist 22  41--63

Connors State 25  34--59

Arkansas Baptist (15-15)—Green 29, Jordan 13, Davenport 8, Hill 6, Smith 4, Rutledge  2, Raynor 1,

Connors State (16-14)—Love 16, Hall 16, Dean 11, Williams 7, Garrett 5, Bunch 4.

Cowgirls Playoff Basketball Game on Internet

Connors State Cowgirls NJCAA Region II play-in basketball  tournament game with Arkansas Baptist College will be streamed on the internet on Monday, March 4.

Lou Kelley will broadcast the game beginning at 6:50 p.m.  from Melvin Self Field House in Warner.

The Cowgirls, who are 16-13, will meet the Lady Buffs for the first time this season. The Arkansas club enters the playoffs with a 14-14 record.

Cameron, Harris, Henderson, Dean Named to Region II Team

Connors State placed three men and one woman on the Region II All-Region basketball teams announced on Sunday.

For the Cowboys, Josh Cameron was placed on the All-Region first team while Hakeem Harris and Dennell Henderson made the second team.

The Cowgirls’ Tonisha Dean was the only Connors woman to earn postseason honors as she was selected to the Region II second team.

The Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference also revealed its men’s and women’s all-conference teams and the same quartet received OCAC honors.

As with the Region II squads, Cameron was placed on the OCAC first team with Harris and Henderson earning second-team honors. The same could be said for Dean as she earned a spot on the league’s second team.

Cowgirls Roll Over Western State 91-80

ALTUS— Connors State Cowgirls placed four players in double digit scoring and raced to a 91-80 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Western Oklahoma State Friday on the Lady Pioneers home floor.

The Cowgirls are now 16-13 for the season and 7-11 in league play and advance to the Region 2 play-in game Monday at Melvin Self Field House against a yet to be determined opponent. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

Tiara Hall led the Cowgirls scoring with 27 points with Shakayla Love pouring home 23 with Tonisha Dean adding 13 and Shakemia Franklin 12.

Cowgirls held a commanding 51-32 lead at the intermission and held off the Lady Pioneers in the second half, as Ebony Nelms led the attack with 33 points.

 CONNORS STATE 91, WESTERN STATE 80

Connors State 51 40--91

Western State 32 48—80

Connors State  (16-13, 7-11 )—Hall 27, Love 23, Dean 13, Franklin 12, Garrett 9, Bunch 6, Williams 1.

Western State  (11-17, 3-15, )—Nelms 33, Gaddis 17, M. Nelms 12, Bell 3, Williams 3, Johnson 2, Nelson 2, Petties 1.

Cowbgirls Rally Falls Short Against Eastern State

Connors Cowgirls battled back from 17-point deficit to within 5 points with 7:11 remaining but never catch the Eastern Oklahoma State Lady Mountaineers, falling 81-73 on sophomore and Homecoming Night at Melvin Self Field House on Thursday.

Eastern opened the second half with a 14-4 run for a commanding 52-33 advantage with 14:20 remaining and stretched it to 17 points 60-43 with 10 minutes left. That’s when the Cowgirls made a late charge, slicing it to five points, 62-57 at the 7:11 mark.

Eastern behind Shola Adebayo, who led the Lady Mountaineers scoring with 28 points, took charge the rest of the way. Kami Bunch led Connors with 17 points with Sha’Georgia Williams adding 15, followed by Shakayla Love’s 12 and Shakemia Franklin’s 10.

Rodneisha Millum followed Adebayo in the Eastern scoring with 15 followed by Rebecca Stewart’s 13 and Taylor Jones 12.

Cowgirls battled back from an 11-point deficit midway the opening 20 minutes to slice the Eastern lead to just three points, 31-29 with 3:52 remaining on a pair of free throws by Love and two baskets by Williams.

Eastern then scored six unanswered points for a 38-29 advantage at the half.

Connors State will travel to Altus to battle Western Oklahoma State Friday at 5 p.m. to close the regular season.

, EASTERN STATE 81, CONNORS STATE 73

Eastern State 38 43—81

Connors State 29 44—73

Eastern State –Adebayo 28, Millum 15, Stewart 13, Jones 12, Carter 6, Brown 5, Franks 2.

Connors State –Bunch 17, Williams 15, Love 12, Franklin 10, Hall 9, Garrett 8, Dean 2.

Connors Game With Eastern State on Internet

The Connors State Cowgirls and Cowboys basketball game with Eastern Oklahoma State will be on the internet Thursday, February 28 at Melvin Self Field House.
Tip-0ff for the Homecoming and Sophomore Night will begin at 6 p..m. with the women, followed by the men at  8 pm.
Lou Kelley will provide the play-by-play.

Cowgirls Crush NOC-Tonkawa, 79-69

TONKAWA – Connors State Cowgirls placed four players in double figure scoring a cruised to a 79-69 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference victory over Northern-Oklahoma Tonkawa Monday night at Piper-Foster Field House.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Cowgirls.

The victory improves the Cowgirls to 14-12 on the season and 5-10 in conference play while the Lady Mavs fall to 3-25 on the year and 1-14 in league play.

Kami Bunch led the Cowgirls scoring with 16 points, followed by Shakayla Love’s 16, with Shakemia Franklin and Tonisha Dean scoring 15 and 14 respectively.

The Cowgirls rolled an early margin, leading 48-30 at the half and was never contested the remainder of the game.

Isidora Madzarevic led the Lady Mavs scoring with 19 points.

Connors returns home Thursday to battle Northern Oklahoma-Enid in a homecoming clash at Melvin Self Field House. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

CONNORS STATE 79, NORTHERN OKLAHOMA TONKAWA 69

Connors State 48 31—79

Northern Tonkawa 30 39—69

Connors State (14-12, 5-10)—Bunch 19, Love 16, Franklin 15, Dean 14, Williams 6, Hall 4, Garrett 4.

,Northern-Tonkawa (3-25, 1-14)—Madzarevic 19, Butler 9, Means 9, Karungi 7, Cruz 6, Flores 5, Means 3,  Krucane 3, Canady 3, Young 2, Moses 2.

Games Postponed

WARNER –Connors State Cowboys and Cowgirls basketball game for Thursday night at Western Oklahoma State College in Altus has been postponed due to inclement weather.

The game has been rescheduled for Friday March 1 at 5 and 7 p. m.

Connors will play Eastern Oklahoma State on Thursday at 6 and 8 p.m. at Melvin Self Field House. It will be Connors homecoming and sophomore night.

Cowgirls Fall to NOC-Enid in Overtime

WARNER –Connors State battled back from a 14-point deficit in the second half to tie league leading Northern Oklahoma Enid 71-71 to send the game into overtime, but the Lady Jets outscored the Cowgirls 15-9 to take an 86-80 win in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash Saturday afternoon at Melvin Self Field House.

The loss drops the Cowgirls to 6-10 on OCAC play and 15-12 for the year. The Lady Jets are now 13-3 in league play and 22-8 for the season.

Cowgirls placed five players in double figure scoring with Shakable Love leading the attack with 18 points. Shakemia Franklin and Tiara Hall scored 15 points each with Sha’Georgia Williams adding 13 and Kami Bunch 10.

The lady Jets were paced by Chelsea Bates with 29 points, with Ryle Swanson adding 22. Christa Beasler scored 19 and Reagan Crawl 10.

Weather permitting the Cowgirls will travel to Altus, Okla. on Monday to battle Western Oklahoma State. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

Cowgirls Williams drained a 3-point shot from the right wing to deadlock the game with 1:43 left, as both clubs took a series of time outs the rest of the way, but could not score.

The Lady Jets scored the final 7 points of the opening half to take a 41-32 advantage. The game was tied four times in the first 20 minutes of play. The Cowgirls managed a 29-29 tie with 3:50 left in the half, before the Lady Jets outscored the Cowgirls 12-3 the rest of the way.

NOC-ENID 86, CONNORS STATE 80

NOC-Enid 41 30 9—80

Connors State 32 38 15—86

NOC-Enid (13-2, 21-8)—Bates 29, Swanson 22, Beasler 19, Crawl 10, Rani 3, Schumpert 2.

Connors State (6-9, 15-11)—Love 18, Franklin 15, Hall 15, Williams 13, Bunch 10, Garrett 5, Dean 4.

Cowgirls Pound NOC-Tonkawa

TONKAWA – Connors State Cowgirls placed four players in double figure scoring a cruised to a 79-69 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference victory over Northern-Oklahoma Tonkawa Monday night at Piper-Foster Field House.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Cowgirls.

The victory improves the Cowgirls to 14-12 on the season and 5-10 in conference play while the Lady Mavs fall to 3-25 on the year and 1-14 in league play.

Kami Bunch led the Cowgirls scoring with 16 points, followed by Shakayla Love’s 16, with Shakemia Franklin and Tonisha Dean scoring 15 and 14 respectively.

The Cowgirls rolled an early margin, leading 48-30 at the half and was never contested the remainder of the game.

Isidora Madzarevic led the Lady Mavs scoring with 19 points.

CONNORS STATE 79, NORTHERN OKLAHOMA TONKAWA 69

Connors State 48 31—79

Northern Tonkawa 30 39—69

Connors State (14-12, 5-10)—Bunch 19, Love 16, Franklin 15, Dean 14, Williams 6, Hall 4, Garrett 4.

,Northern-Tonkawa (3-25, 1-14)—Madzarevic 19, Butler 9, Means 9, Karungi 7, Cruz 6, Flores 5, Means 3,  Krucane 3, Canady 3, Young 2, Moses 2.

NEO Rallies Past Cowgirls to Escape With Win, 63-62

Northeastern A&M rallied from a 24-point second half deficit to overtake Connors State Cowgirls to rally for a 63-62 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference victory Thursday night at Melvin Self Field House.

Cowgirls were unable to stop the inside shooting of Sofia Mendoza and ShaQuita Arnick the final 20 minutes of play. Mendoza and Arnick scored 13 points each all inside the paint, while DeVaughn Gray and Elana Fernandez scored 14 and 12 respectively.

Shakemia Franklin led the Cowgirls scoring with 19 points, followed by Tonisha Dean’s 17 and Dakota Garrett’s 9.

Cowgirls behind the hot shooting of Franklin cruised to a 44-24 lead at the half. Franklin led the assault as she drained four 3-point shots as the Cowgirls went on a 12-0 run midway the first half.

 Franklin scored 11 of the 12 points en route to a 41-20 advantage at the 1:35 mark. The 21-point lead was the largest of the half for the Cowgirls.

However, the Lady Norse battled back to tie the game at 54-all with 7:20 remain and took the lead for good 56- 54 at the seven-minute mark. NEO held the Cowgirls to just 18 points in the final 20 minutes of play.

Connors will return to action on Monday with a home game against Seminole State at 7 p.m.  Connors is now 14-10 for the year and 4-9 in league play. NEO improves to 17-6 and 10-3.

NORTHEASTERN A&M 63, CONNORS STATE 62

Northeastern A&M 24  19—63

Connors State 44 18—62

Northeastern A&M (17-6, 10-3)—Gray 14, Mendoza 13, Arnick 13, Fernandez 12, Schieber 5, Frazier 4, Williams 2.

Connors State (14-10, 4-9)—Franklin 19, Dean 17, Hall 9, Bunch 7, Garrett 4, Love 3, Williams 3,

Cowgirls Selling Pink T-Shirts During Cancer Awareness Month

Connors State Cowgirls basketball team will be selling Pink T-Shirts for $5.00 during Cancer Awareness month from February 7 through the 28, announced Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite.

The T-shirts will be sold during game days at Melvin Self Field House with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.

The Cowgirls will also be holding a silent auction to auction off Pink T-shirts with each player’s Name and number on the T-Shirt. Bids can be made at a table that will be located in the multipurpose room at Melvin Self Field House.

Connors State, NEO Games on Ustream.com

Connors State and Northeastern A&M men’s and women’s basketball games will be carried over the internet beginning at 6 p.m., Thursday, February 7 from Melvin Self Field House on the campus of Connors State College in Warner, Okla.

Individuals can get the game at Ustream.com on your computer.

Lou Kelley will provide the play-by-play description of the games.

Connors State women enter the game with a 14-8 season record and 4-8 mark in Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference play. Northeastern A&M is 16-6 for the year and 9-3 in conference play.

The Connors State Cowboys are 17-5 for the season and 8-4 in OCAC play, while Northeastern A&M enters with a 14-10 record and 7-5.

Cowgirls Fall to Carl Albert, 69-55

Connors State Cowgirls playing without its leading scorer Raven Massey, who is out for the season following knee surgery and starter Tiara Hall, who saw limited action due bronchitis, sustained its third straight loss, falling to Carl Albert 69-55 Thursday night at Melvin Self Field House in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash.

Carl Albert took the lead with 15:20 remaining in the first half and never relinquished it en route to the victory.

The Cowgirls will step out of OCAC play on Saturday to play Mid-South Community College at West Memphis, Ark. Tip-off is 2 p.m.

The Lady Vikings held a 38-20 advantage and increased it to 21 points twice in the second half, 57-36 with 8:36 left in the game. The closest the Cowgirls came in the final 20 minutes was 12 points 67-55 with 59 seconds left in the game.

CARL ALBERT 69, CONNORS STATE 55

Carl Albert 38 31—69

Connors State 20 35-55

Carl Albert (8-11, 4-6)—Brown 18, Edwards 14, Terry 8, Cooper 8, Williams 5, Watson 5, Conner 3, Savic 2, Gray 2, Ledbetter 2.

Connors State (12-8, 4-7)—Dean 22, Bunch 11, Love 8, Williams 6, Franklin 6, Garrett 2.

Connors Basketball on UStream.com Tonight with Carl Albert

Connors State Cowboys and Cowgirls basketball game against Carl Albert State College Thursday, January 31 will be available on Ustream.com with Lou Kelley providing the play by play.

Go to your computer and log in at usstream.com to get the game

The Cowgirls enter the game 10-7 for the year and 4-6 in Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference play. Carl Albert is 7-11 for the year and 3-6 in league play.

The Cowboys, who are ranked No. 22, are 16-4 for the season and 7-3 in OCAC play, while Carl Albert is 2-16 on the year and 0-9 in league action.

Murray State Subdues Cowgirls, 81-73

TISHOMINGO—Murray State rallied from a six-point deficit 66-60 midway the second half then held off the Connors State Cowgirls en route to an 81-73 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference victory Monday night at Beams Field House.

Cowgirls led by Tonisha Dean’s 17 points trailed by 8 points at the half, 38-30 and fell behind by 15 points early in the final half. However, the Cowgirls offense ignited and took a six point advantage for a 66-60 lead.

Connors however, could not stop Toni Cheadle, Sierra Moore and Ivana Jakubcova, who finished with 25, 17 and 15 points respectively in streaking to the victory.

Dean’s 17 points led the Cowgirls offensive assault and was followed by Shakayla Love’s 14, Sha’Georgia Williams 13 and Shakemia Franklin’s 12 points.

Connors returns home Thursday night to battle Carl Albert State College at 6 p.m. at Melvin Self Field House. Cowgirls are now 12-8 for the year and 4-6 in OCAC play, while Murray State improves to 10-7 and 6-3.

MURRAY STATE 81, CONNORS STATE 73

Connors State 30 43--73

Murray State 38 43--82

Connors State (12-8, 4-6)—Dean 17, Love 14, Williams 13, Franklin 12, Hall 5, Garrett 5, Bunch 2, Miller 1.

Murray State (10-7, 6-3)—Cheadle 25, Moore 17, Jakubcova 15, Kell7 9, Baxter 8, Green 7.

Eastern Holds Off Cowgirls, 69-64

WILBURTON --- Connors Cowgirls Kami Bunch and Tonisha Dean scored 17 and 15 points respectively but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 15-point deficit midway in the second half, as Eastern Oklahoma State held off a late Cowgirls threat to take a 69-64 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference win Thursday night.

The Cowgirls drop to 10-7 for the year and 4-5 in league action, while Eastern State improves to 14-6 and 7-2. Connors will travel to Tishomingo to battle Murray State on Monday night. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

Cowgirls, who held a two-point lead midway the first half 20-18, trailed at the half 33-25. The Lady Mountaineers stretched their lead to 15 points 61-46 at the seven-minute mark of the second half. The Cowgirls behind Bunch and Dean, sliced Eastern’s lead to three points 65-62. However, the Cowgirls could get no closer.

Shola Adeboyo led the Lady Mountaineers scoring with 18 points with Rodneisha Milum adding 16 points in the win.

EASTERN STATE 69, CONNORS STATE 64

Connors State 25 39--64

Eastern State 33 36--69

Connors State (10-7, 4-5)—Bunch 17, Dean 15, Hall 12, Williams 8, Garrett 8, Love 4.

Eastern State (14-6,  7-2)—Adeboyo 18, Milum 16, Stewart 9, Brown 8, Hicks 8, Jones 4,Carter 4, Franks 2.

NOC-Enid Rolls Past Cowgirls

ENID – The 22^nd-ranked Northern Oklahoma Jets behind Kati Sullivan’s 23 points and Marisha Wallace’s 22 cruised to a 76-50 victory over the visiting Connors State Cowgirls Thursday night in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash.

The loss drops the Cowgirls to 10-6 for the year and 3-4 in OCAC play, while the Jets remain unbeaten in league play at 6-0 and 14-5 for the season.

Cowgirls’ Kami Bunch and Tonisha Dean led the Cowgirls scoring with 12 points each.

Connors trailed only 33-30 at the half, but fell behind as the Jets’ Sullivan and Wallace ignited the NOC-Enid attack in the final 20-minutes of play.

The Cowgirls will return to OCAC play on Monday night at home against Western Oklahoma State College at Melvin Self Field House. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

NORTHERN OKLAHOMA-ENID  76, CONNOR STATE 50

Connors State 30 20—50

NOC-Enid 33 43—76

Connors State (10-6, 3-4)—Bunch 12, Dean 12, Massey 5, Hall 5, Franklin 5, Love 4, Williams 4, Garrett 3.

NOC-Enid (14-5,  6-0)—Sullivan 23, Wallace 22, Beasler 12, Bates 7, Layn 4, Rani 4, Schumpert 2.

Connors Basketball Games Against Western State on USstream.tv

Connors State Cowgirls and Cowboys junior college basketball game with Western Oklahoma State College on Monday night, January 21 will be streamed online at WWW.usstream.tv  under CSC.

Tip-0ff for the women's  game is 6 p.m. and the men at 8 p. m.

The Cowgirls enter the contest with a 11-6 record and 3-4 mark in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference. Western State is 9-7 and 1-5 in OCAC play.

The  18th-ranked Cowboys are 14-3 for the year and 452 in league action whille Western State enters with a 10-7 record for the year and 1-5 in league action.

Cowgirls Behind Dean Roll Past NOC-Tonkawa, 83-47

WARNER –Connors Cowgirls behind the 25-point scoring performance of Tonisha Dean rolled past Northern Oklahoma-Mavericks Monday night at Melvin Self Field House, cruising to an 83-47 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference victory.

Connors held a precarious 33-27 lead at the break, but took command in the final 20 minutes behind Dean, Shakemia Franklin, who poured in 16 points, with Shakayla Love adding 12 and Raven Massey 10 for the contest.

Cowgirls increased their lead through the final half, holding its largest lead of the night 36, 83-47 with 1:02 left in the game.

Cowgirls will take a 9-10-5 season mark and 3-3 league record to Enid on Thursday to battle Northern Oklahoma-Enid in an OCAC match up. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

Cowgirls cruised to a 9-0 lead to open the game and stretched it to 18 points 29-11 with 5:50 remaining in the opening half.

That’s when the Lady Mavericks went on a 10-0 run to slice Connors lead to six points, 29-23 with 1:45 remaining. The half ended with the Cowgirls holding onto a 33-27 lead.

CONNORS STATE 83, NOC-TONKAWA 47

NOC-Tonkawa 27 20—47

Connors State 33 50—83

NOC-Tonkawa (2-16, 0-6)—Means 13, Karungi 8, Butler 5, Flores 3, McBride 4, Moses 4, Williams 2, Madzarevcic 2, Manning 2, Kruecame 2, Means 2.

Connors State (10-5, 3-3)—Dean 25, Franklin 16, Love 12, Massey 10, Bunch 8, Garrett 7, Hall 5,

Northeastern A&M Holds Off Cowgirls

MIAMI, OKLA. –Connors State battled back from a 10-point half time deficit to tie the game late in the second half, but fell short to Northeastern A&M 70-66 in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash on the Lady Norse home floor Tuesday night.

The loss drops the Cowgirls to 8-5 for the season and 1-3 in OCAC action, while the Lady Norse improves to 10-4 and 3-1 in league action.

The Cowgirls will return to OCAC play on Thursday night, traveling to Seminole State College. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

Connors tied the Lady Norse at 42 all in the second half, but quickly fell behind by 10 points before taking its only lead of the game 66-65 on a bucket by Tonisha Dean, who led Connors scoring with 18 points, connected from the right corner with one-minute left in the game.

However the Lady Norse scored four more points down the stretch to get the victory.

Kami Bunch followed Dean in the scoring for the Cowgirls with 16 points.

NEO took an 8-0 lead to open the game and stretched its margin to 13 points, 29-16 with 3:00 left in the first half, before the Cowgirls scored six unanswered points cutting the Lady Norse lead to 7 points, 29-22 with 50 seconds remaining in the half.

Following an NEO bucket to make it 31-22, Cowgirls’ Kami Bunch, who led the first half scoring for Connors with 9 points, scored to make it 31-24. However the Lady Norse’s Sofia Mendoza drained a 3-point shot as the buzzer sounded for a 10-point NEO lead at the half.

Sofia Mendoza led the NEO scoring with 23 points with DeVaughn Gray adding 14 and ShaQuita Arnick 11.

NORTHEASTERN A&M 70, CONNORS STATE 66

Connors State 24 42—66

Northeastern A&M 34 36—70

Connors State (8-5, 1-3)— Dean 18, Bunch 16, Williams 11, Love 9, Garrett 6, Massey 4, Hall 2.

Northeastern A&M (10-4, 2-2)—Mendoza 23, Gray 14, Arnick 11,  Burns 6, Fernandez  6, Clark 6, Williams 2, Frazier 2.

Cowgirls Rally to Defeat Seminole State

SEMINOLE –Connors State Cowgirls rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to defeat Seminole State 79-76 on the Belles home floor Thursday night in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash.

The victory lifts the Cowgirls to 9-5 on the year and 2-3 in OCAC play, while Seminole State falls to 7-7 for the year and 1-3 in conference play.

Cowgirls had five players score in double figures with Raven Massey leading the offensive assault with 21 points. Sha’Georgia Williams scored 14 points with Shakayla Love adding 12 with Kami Bunch and Tiara Hall with 11 points each.

Connors held a seven-point lead at the half, 40-33, before falling behind by 10 points midway the second half and mounting the comeback.

Maraea Kelemete led the Belles scoring with 23 points followed by Oulaymatou Coulibaly’s 17 and Cherrell Price’s 16 points.

CONNORS STATE 79, SEMINOLE STATE 76

CONNORS STATE 40 39--79

SEMINOLE STATE 33 43--76

CONNORS STATE (9-5, 3-2)—Massey 21, Williams 14, Love 12, Bunch 11, Hall 11, Dean 9, Garrett 1.

SEMINOLE STATE (7-7, 1-3)-Kelemete 23, Coulibaly 17, Price 16, Walck 9, Williams 4, Acklin 4, Rosado 3.

Cowgirls Pound Mid-South Community 113-76

WARNER— Connors State placed seven players in double-digit scoring as the Cowgirls rolled past Mid-South Community College 113-76 at Melvin Self Field House Saturday to open the second half of the season.

Cowgirls’ victory gives Connors State an 8-4 record entering Oklahoma College Athletic Conference play on Tuesday night on the road against Northeastern A&M. Tip-off is 6:30 p.m.

It was the fifth time this season the Cowgirls eclipse the century mark. Raven Massey, who led the Cowgirls scoring with 35 points, hit the century mark at the 5:34 mark, giving the Cowgirls a 100-59 advantage. Massey then put them over the top with a pair of free throws with 3:49 remaining.

Following Massey in the scoring was Shakayah Love with 17 followed by Kami Bunch 15, Sha’Georgia Williams 13, Dakota Garrett 12, with Tonisha Dean, and Tiara Hall with 10 points each.

Connors jumped out to a 16-7 lead and then went on a 12-0 run to grab a comfortable 30-9 advantage with 12:39 left in the half.

The Cowgirls increased its margin to 34 points 61-27, its largest lead of the half with 37 seconds remaining in the first half.

Connors forced the Greyhounds into 19 first half turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of action. Mid-South finished with 32 turnovers in the contest.

CONNORS STATE 113 MID-SOUTH COMMUNITY 76

MID-SOUTH COMMUNITY 29 47-76

CONNORS STATE   61  52--113

MID-SOUTH (5-11)—Harris 20, Hughes 13, Washington 10, Torri 7, Wilkerson 6, Wallace 4, Clark 4, Green 3, Madden  3, King 2, Ball 2, Bennett 2.

CONNORS STATE  (8-4)—Massey 35, Love 17, Bunch 15, Williams 13, Garrett 12, Hall 10, Dean 10, Miller 1.

Cowgirls Reunion Scheduled for Saturday, January 5

Connors State Cowgirls will battle Mid-South Community College at 2 p.m. Saturday at Melvin Self Field House and at half time all former Cowgirls will be introduced.

Festivities for the Cowgirl Reunion will begin at 1 p.m. in the hospitality room. All former Cowgirls are encouraged to attend.

Cowgirls Crush St. Gregory's, 107-33

WARNER –Connors State rolled to an easy 107-33 victory over visiting St. Gregory’s Junior Varsity Tuesday night at Melvin Self Field House.

The win lifts the Cowgirls to 7-4 for the season. Connors State returns to action on January 5 against Mid-South Community College.

Connors’ Sha’ Georgia Williams drained a 3-point shot from the right wing at the 19:55 mark as the Cowgirls were off and running. Lady Cavaliers’ Domique Criddle scored a bucket 20 seconds later and that was the closest that St. Gregory’s would get the rest of the contest, 3-2.

Connors went on a 17-0 run to make it 20-2 at the 14:40 mark and held a commanding 59-15 advantage at the half.

Raven Massey led the Cowgirls’ scoring with 24 points, with Kami Bunch adding 17 and Williams 14 points. All 11 Cowgirls got into the scoring against St. Gregory’s

In the second half both coaching staff agreed to have the clock run continuously the final 20 minutes of play.

Connors crossed the century mark with3:00 left to play 101-29 when Raven Massey scored on a layup.

CONNORS STATE 107, ST. GREGORY’S JV 33

St. Gregory’s JV 15 18—33

Connors State 59 48—107

St. Gregory’s –Criddle 19, Stramus 8, Thurgood 6

Connors State (6-4,  1-2)—Massey 24, Bunch 17, Williams 14, Franklin 8, Love 8, Kyes 7, Medcalf 6, Hall 6, Garrett 6, Dean 5, Miller 4.

Redlands Holds Off Cowgirls 74-62 in Conference Action

WARNER ----Redlands Community took charge from the outset and raced to a 74-62 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Connors State Cowgirls Thursday night at Melvin Self Field House.

Kayla Pahcoddy led the Lady Cougars assault with 24 points dropping the Cowgirls to 5-4 for the season and 1-2 in conference action. Redlands improves to 9-1 and 3-0 in league action. Lissette Plasencia followed Pahcoddy in the scoring with 14 points.

Shakayla Love led the Cowgirls with 14 points, with Tiara Hall adding 11.

Connors will step out of OCAC play on Tuesday playing host to St. Gregory’s junior varsity at Melvin Self Field House. Tipoff is 6 p.m.

Cowgirls rallied from a 13-point deficit 28-15 with 7:46 left in the first half to battled back to within two points with 1:15 remaining behind Hall, 37-35. The Lady Cougars increased its lead to four points just before the half, taking a 39-35 lead into the locker room.

Redlands increased its lead to 18 points in the final 20 minutes, the last with 11:24 left in the game, 61-43, before the Cowgirls battled back to within 8 points, 64-56 at the 4:58 mark.  That was the closest the Cowgirls came the rest of the contest.

 REDLANDS 74, CONNORS STATE 62

Connors State 35 27–62

Redlands 39 35 –74

Connors State (5-4, 1-2) –Love 14, Hall 11, Williams 8, Dean 7, Keys 6, Massey 5, Bunch 4, Garrett 4, Franklin 3,

Redlands (9-1, 3-0) –Pahcoddy 24, Haywood 17, Plasencia 14, Cooper 6, King 5, Anderson 4, Watson 3, Hamilton 1.

Cowgirls Drop Carl Albert, 97-85, in OCAC Play

POTEAU – Connors Cowgirls led by the 20-point performance of freshman Raven Massey and 16-point output by sophomore Shakayla Love, captured a 97-85 victory over Carl Albert Lady Vikings Tuesday night in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference game.

The Cowgirls are now 6-3 for the season and 1-1 in OCAC play while Carl Albert falls to 4-5 and 1-1 in league play.

Joining Massey and Love in double digit scoring for the Cowgirls was Sha’Georgia Williams and Dakota Garrett with 11 and 10 points respectively.

Carl Albert’s scoring was led by D. Brown with 30 points with Skylar Cooper adding 13 and Ericka Edwards 11.

Connors held a 53-40 advantage at intermission taking the lead late in the first half on excellent 3-point shooting, while hauling down 13 offensive rebounds and finishing with 25 offensive boards for the game.

The Cowgirls will return home Thursday night at Melvin Self Field House at 6 p.m. to play host to Redlands Community College.

CONNORS STATE 97, CARL ALBERT 85

Connors State 53 44--97

Carl Albert 40 45 --85

Connors State (6-3, 1-1) –Massey 20, Love 16, Williams 11, Garrett 10, Medcalf 8, Hall 8, Dean 7, Keys 7, Franklin 5, Bunch 4.

Carl Albert (4-5, 1-1)—Brown 30, S. Cooper 13, Edwards 11, Terry 8, Watson 5, K. Cooper 5, Savic 5, Williams 4, Conner 3, Ledbetter 2.

Murray Snaps Cowgirls Winning Streak, 68-52

WARNER –Connors State Cowgirls‘ four game winning streak was snapped Monday night at Melvin Self Field House as the Murray State Lady Aggies handed the Cowgirls a 68-52 loss in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both schools.

Cowgirls are now 5-3 for the season and 0-1 in OCAC action while Murray State improves to 4-1 and 1-0. Connors returns to action on Tuesday night, November 27 with a road game at Poteau, against conference foe Carl Albert State College.

“I am not big on excuses, but we did play four game in five days and you could tell that a little bit,” said head coach Eddie Kite. “We just didn’t have shots falling and we were missing free throws (11-of-21) after shooting 75 percent in our last game.

“That really had a lot to do with it. We just didn’t have the intensity we needed. They played well (Murray). They shot the ball well, we just missed too many shots, that we have been hitting,” he said.

Connors fell behind early and was unable to bounce back, trailing 32-17 at the break. Murray stretched its lead to 24 points battling back to within 12 midway the second half, coming no closer.

“We showed a lot of character bouncing back and cutting it from 24 to 12,” said Kite. “We just didn’t have enough gas left in the tank,” he said. “We showed some solid character. We could have rolled over and we didn’t. We have some work to do.”

Raven Massey led the Cowgirls’ scoring with 14 points, while LaShanda Green led the Lady Aggies with 20. Kaylie Baxter added 12 points in the win.

MURRAY STATE 68,  CONNORS STATE 52

Murray State 32 36–68

Connors State 17 35 –52

Murray State (4-1, 1-0)—Green 20, Baxter 12, Kerin 10, Moore 10, Cheadle 9, Jakubcova 4, Kelly 3, Huerta 2.

Connors State (5-3, 0-1)—Massey 14, Bunch 9, Williams 6, Love  6, Franklin 5, Keys 4, Dean 3, Garrett 3, Medcalf 2.

Cowgirls Collecting Canned Goods for Gospel Rescue Mission

Connors State Cowgirls basketball team is collecting canned goods which will be donated to the Gospel Rescue Mission in Muskogee.

The drive which began Monday, November 19 will continue through December 6.

Donated canned goods can be brought to Melvin Self Field House on the Warner campus.

Cowgirls Crush Coffeyville, 104-71; Fourth Straight Win

COFFEYVILLE, KAN. –It was no contest Saturday night at the Coffeyville Classic as the Connors State Cowgirls cruised to an impressive 104-71 victory over host Coffeyville Community College for their fourth consecutive victory.

Cowgirls improve to 5-2 for the season and opens Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference play Monday night at Melvin Self Field House against Murray State College. Tip-off for the league opener is 6:30 p.m.

“We came out the first half and we were just killing it (shooting),” said head coach Eddie Kite. “This was the best basketball we’ve played this season.

“The first half I don’t know if they could have played much better, offensively or defensively. The final score wasn’t really as close as it was. We kind’ a lost focus the last few minutes of the game.

“The kids are really buying into the new offense, crashing the boards and playing defense,” said Kite.

Five Cowgirls scored in double figures with Sha’Georgia Williams scoring a season high 19 points to lead the offensive attack. Williams was 5-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-3 from behind arch, while connecting on 6-of-9 at the free throw line.

Shakayla Love, also drained a season high 16 points. Shakemia Franklin scored 14 points followed by Tiara Hall’s 12 and Courtney Medcalf’s 10.

Connors exploded to a 49-26 lead at the intermission, as the Cowgirls shot 46 percent from the field and finished with a torrid 52 percent from the field, draining 36-of-73 attempts, including 7-of-13 from behind the arc.

Cowgirls were deadly at the free throw line canning 25-of-35 attempts. Defensively Connors forced Coffeyville into 27 turnovers for the game, while committing only nine.

Connors held the Lady Red Ravens to 39 percent shooting from the field (26-of-66) and just 3-of-13 from behind the arc.

Chelsie Keys led the Coffeyville scoring with 16 points, with Kourtney Carpenter scoring 13 and Devyn Edwards, Miaja Coursey scoring 11 and 10 respectively.

CONNORS STATE 104, COFFEYVILLE 71

Connors State 49 55--104

Coffeyville 26  45--71

Connors State (5-2)—Williams 19,Love 16, Franklin 14, Hall 12, Medcalf 10, Bunch 7, Dean 7, Keys 7, Massey 4, Miller 3.

Coffeyville –Keys 16, Carpenter 13, Edwards 11, Coursey 10, Cook 6, Green 5, Andersen 4, Winden 2, Brantley 2.

Cowgirls Win Third Straight; Rip Labette County 92-66

COFFEYVILLE, KAN. –Connors State’s up-tempo offensive attack was more than Labette County could handle as the Cowgirls rolled past the Cardinals 92-66 in the Coffeyville Classic Friday night.

Cowgirls, who have now won three consecutive games, improved to 4-2 on the year and will play host Coffeyville Lady Red Ravens at 7 p.m. Saturday. Connors opens Oklahoma Collegiate Conference action on Monday against Murray State at Melvin Self Field House. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.

Four Cowgirls shot in double-figures with Tonisha Dean leading the attack with 14 points as Connors shot 46 percent from the field, draining 37-of-80 attempts.

Shakayla Love followed Dean in the scoring with 14 points with Hayley Keys adding 13 and Shakemia Franklin 12. Dakota Garrett led the Cowgirls in rebounding pulling down 11 boards.

Connors led from the opening basket cruising to a 48-25 lead at the intermission. The Cowgirls were never threatened in the second half as Labette could not overcome the 23-point half time deficit.

Ashley Lutz led the Labette County scoring with 15 points, with Dayshaney Russell, Haleigh Lis and Natasha Carver scoring 10 points each.

CONNORS STATE 92, LABETTE COUNTY 66

Connors State 48 44--92

Labette County 25 41--66

Connors State (4-2)– Dean 18, Love 14, Keys 13, Franklin 12, Hall 9, Garrett 7, Bunch 6, Williams 5, Medcalf 4, Miller 2, Massey 2.

Labette County—Lutz 15, Russell 10, Lis 10, Carver 10, Phillips 9, Nicholas 9, Lee 3.

Cowgirls Avenge Season Opening Loss to North Arkansas 72-67

HARRISON, ARK. –Connors State women avenged an early season loss to North Arkansas Community College Saturday afternoon capturing a 72-67 victory over the Lady Pioneers in the North Arkansas Classic.

The victory gives the Cowgirls a 2-2 season record entering Thursday night’s game against Bacone JV at Melvin Self Field House.

 North Arkansas had defeated the Cowgirls 73-67 in the season opener at Melvin Self Field House.

and Raven Massey  and Sha’ Georgia Williams led the Cowgirls scoring with 18 and 12 respectively with Tonisha Dean and Tiara Hall scoring 7 points each.

“We were up by 10 to 12 points at one point, got into a little foul trouble, but this is not the same team that took the floor on Monday,” said Cowgirls head Coach Eddie Kite.

: We played much better, playing much better team ball and they are playing harder,”

 said Kite.

“We are much improved ball team over the past week,” he said.

North Arkansas’ scoring was led by Janna Case’s 16 points.

The Cowgirls trailed 29-28 at the break, but streaked to a 10 point lead midway the second half and thwarted a late Lady Pioneer rally for the win.

Kite liked the defensive intensity the Cowgirls displayed against the Lady Pioneers this time around, especially the play of Massey.

“Raven is getting a lot of her points off her defensive play on the ball, causing turnovers and that’s what we want,” said Kite. “She’s so aggressive.  Raven has been able to stay out of foul trouble the last three games and it has allowed her to score on our transition game. This also allows her to get into position to dish (assist) the ball out to her teammates to score and get some finishes.

“This was a group effort. Everybody stepped up and played big,” said Kite.

CONNORS STATE 72, NORTH ARKANSAS 67

North Arkansas 29 36--67

Connors State 28 44--72

North Arkansas –Case 16, Wade 9, Poole 9, Prochaska 9, Johnson 7, Hargrove 5, Martin 5, Campbell 3, Villines 2.

Connors State (2-2)—Raven Massey 18, Sha’Georgia Williams 12, Tonisha Dean 7, Tiara Hall 7, Kami Bunch 6, Courtney Medcalf 6, Dakota Garrett 6, Shakayla Love 4, Hayley Keys 3, Shakemia Franklin 2.

Cowgirls Fall to Crowder in North Arkansas Classic 83-75

HARRISON, ARK. – Connors State fell to Crowder Community College 83-75 in the North Arkansas Classic Friday night.

The loss drops the Cowgirls to 1-2 on the season entering Saturday’s I: 30 p.m. contest against North Arkansas Community College. North Arkansas posted a 30-point win over John Woods Community College in the other game. It will be the second meeting between Connors and North Arkansas in a week.

The Cowgirls had three girls score in double figures with Sha’ Williams leading the scoring with 20 points, followed by Raven Massey’s 17 and Shakayla Love’s 12. Crowder’s scoring was led by Camila Lacerda’s 18 points with Terai Sadler adding 15 and Sarah Sagely 14.

“We just too many bunny shots (under the basket),” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “It was a tough loss. But this team has made a lot of improvement since Monday.”

The Lady Raiders held a 41-39 lead at the intermission. The Cowgirls dug out of two 10 point deficits in the game, but could never gain the lead.

“We just couldn’t know down a shot to get the lead,” said Kite. “We just shot poorly around the basket. But the girls didn’t quit and are showing improvement. If we hit 50 percent of our bunny shots we would win by 10 points,” he said.

CROWDER, MO. 83, CONNORS STATE 75

Connors State 39 36--75

Crowder, Mo. 41 42--83

Connors State (1-2)—Sha’ Williams 20, Raven Massey 17, Shakayla Love 12, Kami Bunch 6, Dakota Garrett 5, Courtney Medcalf 4, Tonisha Dean 4, Tiara Hall 4, Shakemia Franklin 3.

Crowder, Mo. (3-1)—Lacerda 18, Sadler 15, Sagely 14, Marshall 12, Amos 8, Briggs 7, Ritter 7, Nichols 2.

Cowgirls Pound Bacone JV 100-49 for First Victory

MUSKGOEE---Connors State Cowgirls had four players score in double figures en route to a 100-49 victory over Bacone College JV Wednesday night at the Palmer Center on the Bacone campus.

The win evens the Cowgirls record at 1-1 entering Friday’s contest at the North Arkansas Classic in Harrison, Ark. The Cowgirls will play Crowder (Mo.) Community College.

Freshman guard Raven Massey led the Cowgirls scoring attack with 23 points as Connors was never contested in the game, leading from the opening tip-off.

“We played much more relaxed tonight,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite.  “The game was kind of ugly at the start, a carry over from are opener, but we settled down. We started playing a little bit better defense, and rebounded better.

“Our transition game was much better. It was a good game for us, especially the freshmen and hopefully it will carry over this weekend,” said Kite.

Also scoring in double figures for the Cowgirls were freshman Courtney Medcalf with 13, followed by sophomores Shakayla Love 12 and Tiara Hall 11. Freshmen Kami Bunch and Tonisha Dean scored 9 points each.

Bacone’s scoring was led by Shay Knap with 9 points.

 CONNORS STATE 100, BACONE JV 46

Connors State 46 54--100

Bacone JV  23 26--49

Connors State  (1-1)–Raven Massey 23, Courtney Medcalf 13, Shakayla Love 12,Tiara Hall 11, Kami Bunch 9, Tonisah Dean 9, Shakemia Franklin 8, Dakota Garrett 8, Sha’Georgia Williams 3, Hayley Keys 2.

Bacone JV— Knapp 9, Byers 8, Hall 6, Drew 6, Robinson 5, Lovell 4, Burgess 4, Powell 3, Tatum 2, Canell 1, Harold 1.

Cowgirls Fall to North Arkansas in Season Opener

North Arkansas used deadly 3-point shooting and controlled the boards in stunning the Connors Cowgirls 73-67 in the season opener for the Cowgirls at Melvin Self Field House Monday night.

The Lady Pioneers improve to 3-0 for the year and CSC falls to 0-1 heading into a Wednesday night game at Muskogee against Bacone College.

North Arkansas drained 16 3-point shots in getting the victory, with Allie Ware canning 5 3-pointers and finished with 21 points to lead the Lady Pioneers’ scoring. Destiny Prochaska followed with four 3-pointers and 18 points. Brooke Poole added 13 points; four came on 3-point shots.

The Cowgirls scoring was led by Tiara Hall’s 16 points, with Tonisha Dean adding 12 in the loss.

:”We did a really poor job of playing inside tonight,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite, adding “I thought that would be strength of our team, but we didn’t show it tonight.

”the biggest thing was we didn’t contain on defense. That was their third game and our first and you could definitely tell it. We have work to do.

“We just didn’t contain them on the perimeter. You have to close them out. It starts with ball pressure, you have to be able to contain them,” said Kite.

Cowgirls held a 35-30 lead at the intermission despite the Lady Pioneers controlling the boards and getting numerous second and third shots.

The first half result in three ties the opening 20 minutes before the Cowgirls sprinted to a 7-point lead, the first of 7-point lead in the half,  23-16 on buckets by Shakemia Franklin, pair of free throws by Shakayla Love and two buckets by Dean.

Connors second 7-point lead came with 3:09 left in the half when Hall drained a 10-footer. North Arkansas rallied to tie the game at 30-all before the Cowgirls scored five unanswered points, a 3-pointer by Hayley Keys from the right wing and a layup by Dean for the 35-30 margin at half time.

However, the Lady Pioneers regained the lead in the opening minute of the second half draining two 3-point shots for a 36-35 lead.

The game was tied two more times before North Arkansas five unanswered points for a 53-49 advantage with 9:30 left in the game. Connors battled back, outscoring the Lady Pioneers 9-3 to tie the game 57-all with 6:24 remaining.

Cowgirls grabbed the lead at 62-60 on a 3-point shot by Sha’Georgia Williams with 5:31 left, but North Arkansas responded with a another 3-pointer to make it 63-62. Connors tied the Lady Pioneers at 65-all at the 3:05 mark on a pair of free throws by Love.

North Arkansas then outscored the Cowgirls 8-2 over the final three minutes to get the win.

NORTH ARKANSAS 73, CONORS STATE 67

North Arkansas 30 43—73

Connors State 35 32 –67

North Arkansas –Wade 21, Prochaska 18, Poole 13, Martn 9, Case 9, Campbell 6.

Connors State –Hall 16, Dean 12, Love 8, Franklin 7, Williams 6, Bunch 5, Massey 4, Garrett 4, Keys 3, Medcalf 2.

Basketball Season Tickets On Sale

Connors State Cowboys and Cowgirls basketball season tickets are now on sale, according to CSC Athletic Director Bill Muse.

Tickets are $50 for chair back seats at Melvin Self Field House on the Warner campus. The Cowboys and Cowgirls will play 19 home games with the home season tip-off on Nov. 5 with a doubleheader.

The Cowgirls will play host to Northark College at 5:30 p.m. followed by the Cowboys battling Southwestern Christian College at 7:30 p.m.

Season tickets can be purchased by contacting Muse at (918) 463-6213.

Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet Big Hit

MUSKOGEE-- Connors State College inducted eight former student athletes, its 1985 Cowgirls National Championship basketball team and awarded an Outstanding Leadership award at its first Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday night at the Muskogee Country Club.

Inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame for basketball was Lou Henson, who played at Connors State and had an outstanding coaching career at New Mexico State and the University of Illinois. He was joined by NJCAA All-American Horatio Webster, who was unable to make the trip due a flight cancelation in Chicago. Rhonda Smith, who was a two time- All-American for the Cowgirls basketball team represented the women, but didn’t make the trip due to a family illness.

Also inducted were softball players Michel Taylor-Ashlock, and Cassie Tipton, baseball players Jeff Turtle and Clint Sodowsky. V. David Miller, CEO of Cross Communication received the Outstanding Leadership Award.

Connors State President Dr. Tim Faltyn expressed his appreciation to the packed ballroom of 140 for their “continued support of Connors State athletics and to the college.”

“This was well overdue (Athletic Hall of Fame) and to me personally one more sentence in a chapter of excellence that we are building at Connors State,” said Dr. Faltyn.

The highlight of the evening was Henson, who grew up in Okay and came to Connors in 1951 to play basketball.

“Connors was the foundation for my coaching career and the stepping stone for my life,” said Henson.  “My playing days at Connors sparked my interest in coaching.”

Henson, who said he believed in giving back to what help him through life, donated $5,000 to the men’s basketball program it was announced by Athletic Director Bill Muse.

Kim Davis-Barton, who played for the Cowgirls from 1980-82, where she was named an NJCAA All-American, said “I am truly blessed to be honored tonight and be here. I thank God for giving me the ability to play basketball.

“It was Coach (Monte) Madewell who helped perfect my game. There is no better place than Connors State. It will always be in my heart,” said Davis-Barton.

ESPN Basketball Analyst to Emcee CSC Athletics Hall of Fame

Bryndon Manzer, former Oklahoma State guard and now ESPN Basketball game and Studio analyst will emcee the Connors State College Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 6 at Muskogee Country Club.

The event begins at 5 p.m. with a reception followed by dinner and the induction of the first class.

“I am very excited about being a part of this event and being selected the emcee,” said Manzer.

Manzer, who resides in Edmond, with his wife Janie and sons Brooks (9) and Banks (5), is also an investment advisor with Securian Advisors, MidAmerica Inc. for the past 10 years.

Manzer, who played his high school basketball at Stillwater High School, began his college career at St. Gregory’s Junior College when he played for two seasons under Don Sumner. He is St. Gregory’s fourth all-time leading scorer and led Region II in scoring with a 23-6 scoring average in the 1991-92 seasons. He was an honorable mention All-American in 1991-92. He was inducted into the St. Gregory’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

Manzer then signed with Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State in 1992 where he played on two nationally ranked NCAA Tournament teams. He left OSU as the school’s all-time 3-point percentage leader.

Following graduation he became head coach at St. Gregory’s in 1996 through 2002 leading the school to only national tournament appearance in 1999-200. He was named the Sooner Athletic Conference coach of the year. He served as athletic director from2000 to 2002.

Athletic Hall of Fame Tickets Available

Tickets for the Connors State College Athletic Hall of Fame banquet on Oct. 6 are available at the Warner campus by contacting Athletic Director Bill Muse.

Cost of the event is $25 and can be purchased by contacting Muse at (918) 463-6231. The event will be held at the Muskogee Country Club, which gets under way at 5 p.m. with a reception, followed by the dinner at 6 p.m. and the induction of the first CSC class.

Bryndon Manzer, studio basketball analyst for ESPNU and former basketball player at Oklahoma State University, will emcee the banquet.

CSC Announces First Athletics Hall of Fame Class

Connors State College has a long history of athletic achievements and to honor those athletes CSC Athletic Director and Cowboys head basketball coach Bill Muse has announced the first Connors State College Athletic Hall of Fame members.

The first class, which will be inducted on Oct. 6, at the Muskogee Country Club includes former men’s basketball players Lou Henson, Horatio Webster, women’s basketball players Kim Davis-Barton, Rhonda Smith, baseball players Clint Sodowsky, Jeff Turtle, softball players Cassie Tipton, Michel Taylor, women’s 1985 NJCAA National Championship basketball team and V. David Miller of Cross Communication, who is to be awarded the Outstanding Leadership Award.

“We are very excited about establishing our Athletic Hall of Fame with athletes who have excelled both on and off the athletic courts and playing fields at Connors State College,” said Muse. “This is an exciting time for Connors State and we are looking forward to our first induction in October.

 “The Connors State Athletic Hall of Fame is the highest athletic honor that can be bestowed on a Cowboy and Cowgirl that participated in athletics,’’ said Muse.

Bryndon Manzer, studio basketball analyst for ESPNU and former basketball player at Oklahoma State University, will emcee the banquet, which will get under way at 5 p.m. with a reception, followed by dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets for the event can be obtained  from Muse at Connors State by calling (918) 463-6231.

Henson, a native of Okay, Okla. played at Connors State in 1951-53 before continuing his collegiate career at New Mexico State University, before beginning a coaching career that spanned 53 years.

He began his career at Las Cruces, N.M. High School in 1959, winning three state titles before moving to the college ranks in 1962 at Hardin-Simmons University, where he posted a 67-36 mark. After four seasons he took over at his alma mater, New Mexico State, taking the Aggies to the Final Four for the only time in the school’s history in 1970, losing to eventual national champion UCLA in the semifinals.

During his nine seasons at New Mexico State he led the Aggies to six NCAA Tournaments and four 20-win seasons, compiling a 173-71 record.

Henson then moved to the University of Illinois, leading the Illini to the Final Four in 1989, before retiring after 21 seasons in 1996. He compiled an overall record of 423-224 at Illinois.  He guided the Illini to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and three NIT appearances.

However, New Mexico State reached out to their alum following a scandal that removed the head coach just before the season opened. Henson stayed until 2005 posting a 135-86 record, which included three more NCAA Tournament appearances and three trips to the NIT. He retired coaching for a second time because of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Henson’s overall collegiate coaching record is 779-422 to rank No. 6 on the all-time list among coaches.

Webster, a Durant, Miss., native played at Connors State 1995 -96, is the Cowboys all-time leading scorer with 1,674 points. Webster was a NJCAA All-American and Player of the Year in 1996. Webster averaged 23.5 points his sophomore season in leading the Cowboys to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.

Following his CSC career, he played at Mississippi State, where he was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference performer, where he  averaged 16.1 points his junior season and 17.0 points during his senior year.

Kim Davis-Barton played for the Cowgirls from1980-82, where she was a NJCAA All-American in 1982 in leading CSC to the Region II Championship and national tournament appearance. Davis-Barton was a two-time All-Bi-State Conference selection and voted the Region II Most Valuable Player in 1982. She was selected to play in the East-West junior college game in Kansas City, Mo.

Following graduation at CSC, Davis-Barton continued her basketball career at Oral Roberts University leading the Lady Titans to an undefeated regular season record during the 1982-83 seasons under head coach Debbie Yow. Davis-Barton averaged 17.3 points at ORU in leading the Lady Titans to the WNIT, losing in the semifinals.

Davis-Barton, who played only one season at ORU, before moving on to the University of Florida with Yow, led ORU in scoring and was an All-American selection. She was nominated by Yow for the Margaret Wade Trophy as the women’s player of the year.

She played one season at Florida where she was a letterman and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising from the College of Journalism and Communication. She is now the Director of Outreach of Alachua County Supervisor of Elections.

Smith played for the Cowgirls from 1983 and 1985, where she was a two-time NJCAA All-American and named to the Kodak All-America team in 1985. She was also a two-time All-Bi-State Conference and Region II selection and is the only Cowgirl to have her Jersey Number retired—35.

She is the Cowgirls all-time leading scorer with 1,512 points, averaging 20.7 points a game during her career. Smith averaged 24.7 points her sophomore season, No. 1 on the Cowgirls record list, along with single season rebound mark of 450 for a 12.5 average. She also tops the single season records for field goals (382), and field goal attempts (705).

Following graduation from Connors, Smith continued her playing career at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where she averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds on the Lady Bulldogs team that won the 1987 NAIA National Championship with a 30-2 record. She was a first team NAIA All-American, All-District IX selection and Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Year.

Turtle, a member of the Cowboys baseball team in 1984 and 85, was signed by head coach Perry Keith on the tailgate of a pickup at Pryor, Okla., and went on to become the all-time career homerun (41) and runs-batted-in (190) record holder at Connors.

He was a two-time All-Region selection and second team NJCAA All-American in 1985. Following his graduation at Connors he signed with Kansas State, where he hit .337 and .397 with 21 home runs over two years, being named All-Big Eight in 1987. Turtle went on to play in the San Francisco Giants organization.

Sodowsky played for the Cowboys in 1991where he posted an 8-3 record with 63 strike outs and an earned run average of 2.34. He drafted in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Detroit Tigers.

The right-hander pitched for four major league teams, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Arizona and St. Louis, posting a career record of 8-14 with a 6.17 earned run average. He was a member of the inaugural Arizona Diamondbacks team that began play in the MLB in 1998.

Sodowsky retired from professional baseball in 2006 after playing 10 seasons in Triple-A.

Tipton played two seasons for the Cowgirls, 1995-96 and played an instrumental part in leading Connors State to the NJCAA National Tournament, finishing fifth. The outfielder was an NJCAA second team All-American, hitting .467 with 44 stolen bases, which stood for 16 years as the all-time record stolen base record. She was a Bi-State Conference and Region 2 first team selection.

Tipton went on to Oklahoma State, playing two seasons.

Taylor, who played for the Cowgirls in 1996 and 96, was the top pitcher for the ‘96 club which went on to the NJCAA National Tournament, posting a 36-6 record. The right-hander ranks No. 2 on the Cowgirls all-time single season records. She posted a 1.33 earned run average in ’96 en route to be named second team NJCAA All-American, while be a first team Bi-State and Region 2 first team selection.

Taylor then went on to Southwestern State University, playing just one season. She was the primary pitcher on the Lady Bulldogs first ever intercollegiate softball team. She led the team in starts with 30, posting nine wins with 101 strike outs.

The 1985 Cowgirls basketball team under the guidance of head coach Monte Madewell and assistant Bill Martin, won Connors State first-ever national championship at Senatobia, Miss., as a No. 8 seed at the national tournament, capturing a 73-71 victory over top-ranked Odessa Junior College in the championship game, to end the season with a 32-4 record.

Team members of the championship squad are Lisa McMillin, Traci Krumsiek, Carolyn Greuel, Michelle Gordon, Stacy Cunningham, Gail Cooks, Vicki Price, Jan Gilmore, Alicia Burke, Rhonda Smith, Tonya Godsby, Mannon Mahan, Wendy Sanders, DeDe McLemore, and LaDonna James.

Miller, CEO of Cross Telephone Company, has over 40 years of telecommunications experience and is a second generation in the business. He has been employed with Cross since 1963, working in all areas of the company, including repair, sales and management.

He has been very active in Muskogee as well as the communities that Cross Telephone Company serves. Miller serves on several boards such as the Foundation of Connors State College since its inception as a member of the board and also as chairman for several years.

Miller has also served as President of the Oklahoma Telephone Association, board member of the FiveStar Financial Corporation, Oklahoma State Insurance Board, Five Civilized Tribe Museum Foundation, chairman and board member of the Muskogee County Excise Board, and the Muskogee Country Club.

He has also worked closely with the Shriners in helping crippled and burned children, local ball teams and school related functions.

Former TU American, NFL Star Speaks to Connors State Student-Athletes

Jerry Ostroski

Jerry Ostroski, former University of Tulsa All-American and an 8-year pro with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills addressed 125 athletes Wednesday night at the Connors State College Westbrook Library Auditorium telling the athletes to “take advantage of your opportunity”

Ostroski, who started 108 games for the Bills as an offensive lineman, after being cut three times by Kansas City and Atlanta stressed to the student-athletes to “make the most of the opportunity.

“But the real opportunity is to ask yourself is.. what are you really doing with this opportunity. Are you wasting it or using it to the best of your ability?

Ostroski, who sustained several knee injuries during his NFL career stressed to the student-athletes that “it’s a grind, but you have to embrace the grind to become the best that you can be. You have to put in the time. It’s not easy

“Its what do at home and in the classroom that you bring to athletics that makes you a better athlete, by putting in the time. You don’t need to be out on the weekend, drinking, smoking or driving around with friends when you can be working on your game.

“You don’t need to be blowing five days a week of hard work on two days of weekend trouble and getting right back where you started,” said Ostroski.

Ostroski told the student-athletes he wanted to attend Penn State, but the opportunity wasn’t there. He was recruited by TU’s George Henshaw, who left before he enrolled his freshman season and played four years under Dave Rader, where he played in two bowl games.

“It was my dream to play by Penn State, but wasn’t given the opportunity, and I embraced the TU opportunity. That’s what I telling these student athletes take advantage of the opportunity they have and make the most of it. I thought many times of returning home to Pennsylvania but I wanted to make my parents proud and that’s what you should want.

“There is no magic formula for success. You just have to grind it out. Only one percent of college athletes become pro athletes. But this time (college) is the best time of our life. Embrace the grind and take advantage of the opportunity,” said Ostroski.

Fisher Named to Cowgirls Coaching Staff

Connors State Cowgirls head basketball coach Eddie Kite has hired Jamie Fisher as an assistant coach on his staff.

Fisher, who comes to Connors State from Howard College in Big Spring, Texas, where he has coached the past four seasons, replaces Heather Wimberley, who resigned in June to pursue other opportunities.

“I am very excited to have Jamie join the Cowgirl basketball program,” said Kite. “He is a tireless worker and a very resilient recruiter.”

Fisher helped Howard to reach the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament in 2009.

Fisher graduated from Northeastern State University with a public relations and marketing degree. Before attending NSU he was at Coffeyville Community College where graduated in 2004 and  played on the Red Ravens golf team.

He is a graduate of Sperry High School, where his father, Bill coached for over 30 years and winning 7 state high school baseball championships.

Decade of Athletic Excellence

Connors State College under the guidance of Athletic Director Bill Muse the Cowboys and Cowgirls athletic teams have an unprecedented record over the past decade.

Connors State has won 10 conference championships, 6 Region II Championships, appeared in 3 National Junior College Athletic National Basketball Tournaments, 2 NJCAA College World Series and 1 Final Four.

No other Oklahoma state junior college athletic department has recorded as many feats as the Cowboys and Cowgirls in the past 10-year period.

CSC Golf Scramble July 13

Connors State Athletic Department will hold a scramble golf tournament July 13 at Cobblestone Creek Golf Course in Muskogee, announced CSC Athletic Director Bill Muse.

 The teams will consist of four players per team and the cost is $100 per player.

 All proceeds from the tournament will go to student-athletic scholarships at Connors State.

 For more information contact Bill Muse at 918-463-6231.

2012 Cowgirl Basketball Camp

2012 Cowgirl Basketball Camp

June 25-29, 2012

Connors State College Head Women’s Basketball Coach Eddie Kite and staff will be hosting an Overnight and Day Summer Basketball Camp for young basketball enthusiasts from elementary ages through high school ages.  Campers will be drilled in the fundamentals that will help them continue to improve their individual skills and overall knowledge of the game.  For more information, please call Eddie Kite at 918/463-6305.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Free Basketball to Every Camper

Camp Address: Eddie Kite Basketball Camps and Clinics P.O. Box 1235 Warner, Ok. 74469

_____ Overnight Camper            _____ Day Camper           T-Shirt Size: __S  __M  __L  __ XL

__ Child Sized Shirt        __ Adult Sized Shirt

Name ______________________________    Age (As of 6/2011) _____                              Height: __________        

Address ___________________________________    City ________________________             State _____         Zip Code _______________

Home Phone ________________________     Work Phone ________________________             Cell Phone ____________________________

School Name ______________________________      Roommate Preference ______________________________

Overnight Camper Tuition:  $190.00    Day Camper Tuition:  $155.00

A $50.00 Non-Refundable deposit must accompany each application, and is necessary to cover the cost of processing each application and is applied toward the camper’s tuition balance.

Make checks payable to:  Eddie Kite Basketball Camps and Clinics.  Enclosed is a check for $_______________

Lloyd Signs with Park University

Connors State ‘s Taylor Lloyd, 5-9 sophomore guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., has signed a basketball national letter of intent with Park (Mo.) University, announced Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite.

Lloyd was an honorable mention Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference selection last season. Lloyd averaged .8.2 points per game.

Park University is located in Parkville, Mo., and is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Lady Pirates, who posted a 19-8 record under head coach Kenneth Cooper last season, competes in the American Midwest Conference.

Seven Sign Letters of Intent With Cowgirls

Connors State Cowgirls basketball coach Eddie Kite has announced the signing of seven players to NJCAA National Letters of Intent.

Joining the Cowgirls for the 2012-13 basketball season are Kami Bunch, 5-5, point guard from Tulsa Booker T. Washington; Shanques Gibson, 6-2, center from Tulsa Webster High School; Hayley Keys, 5-5, shooting guard from Oaks Mission, High School; Courtney Medcalf, 6-2 center from Wilburton High School, Sha’Georgia Williams, 5-4 point guard from West Mesquite, Texas; Keima Franklin, 5-6 shooting and Raven Massey, 5-6 shooting guard from Commerce (Texas) High School.

Bunch led the No. 6-ranked Hornets to a 19-8 record and area finals as a senior, where she averaged 8.0 points per game and 3.0 assists per game.

Gibson help lead Webster to a 21-8 record and the area finals her senior season. She averaged 10.0 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game and 5.0 assists per game. Gibson is also the Senior Class President and is a National Honor Society member.

Keys led Oaks Mission to a 19-6 record and region semifinals as a senior where she averaged 14 points per game, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds.

Medcalf led the 12^th-ranked Lady Diggers to a 23-7 record and area finals while averaging 11 points and 12 rebounds as a senior.

Williams led West Mesquite to a 31-8 record and region finals as a senior. Williams was selected as TABC second team All-State selection, District Co-MVP, All-Dallas-Ft. Worth second team selection. Williams will play in the TABC All-Star game later this month. She averaged 18 points per game, and 11 assists.

Franklin averaged 20 points, 5 assists and 5 steals per game at Paris High School. She was an All-District player her senior season.

Massey averaged 18 points a game, 7 steals and 6 assists at Commerce High School. She was a first team All-District selections and was named the, District Offensive MVP, and an honorable All-State selection as a senior.

Cowgirls to Hold Open Tryouts

Connors State Cowgirls will be holding open basketball tryouts on April ^12th , according to head coach Eddie Kite.

The tryouts will be held at Melvin Self Field House on the Connors State campus in Warner, beginning at 1 p.m.

For more information contact Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite at (918) 463-6305.

Former Cowgirls Competing in NAIA National Tournament

Three former members of the Connors Cowgirls basketball team a year ago are participating in the NAIA Women’s National Tournament in Frankfort, Ky.

Oklahoma City University assistant coach Claire Scroggins, who was an assistant on CSC’s Eddie Kite’s staff for three seasons, has played an instrumental part in the Stars 32-1 record. The Stars are seeded No. 1 in the tournament.

In their opening game OCU defeated Our Lady of the Lakes University 93-71 and former Cowgirl Chelsea Kellogg, of Waldron, Ark., who is a junior, is a member of the Lady of the Lakes,were making their first ever national tournament appearance.

Sierra Cornwell, who plays for Rogers State, scored 14 points in leading the Hillcats to an upset of No. 2 seeded Cumberland College in overtime. Cornwell was named the defensive player of the year in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

The former players can be followed on the NAIA website.

NOC-Enid Holds Off Cowgirls in Region II Play

SHAWNEE—Connors Cowgirls gave the top-seed and No. 5 ranked NJCAA Northern Oklahoma Jets all they wanted for 37 minutes of play in the Region II Basketball Tournament at Oklahoma Baptist University Saturday afternoon.

Connors, however, went scoreless for almost two minutes late in the second half, after charging back from an eight-point deficit to fall 74-65 in semifinal play at the Noble Center. The Cowgirls close the year 18-13, as the Jets advanced to Sunday’s championship game with a 29-3 record.

It was a physical game with 43 fouls whistled in the contest. The difference in the contest came at the free throw line as the Cowgirls went to the line just 16 times, draining 8, while the Jets were 30-of-36 attempts.

“We just could not get to the paint and attack the way we wanted,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “We kept settling for perimeter shots (7-of-24 from behind the arc) or turn the ball over (19). We didn’t have quality possessions when it mattered the most.

“Their big girl (Marisha Wallace) in the middle makes a big difference (16 rebounds, 19 points). She controlled the inside. But Tiara (Hall) did a good job battling her and Tonisha (Dean) grew up today from the last time. She battled her a lot better this time.

“We just didn’t execute offensively well enough,” said Kite.

NOC-Enid held a 34-28 lead at the half, breaking a 28-28 deadlock with six unanswered points in the final 1:29 of the half. The Jets then increased its margin to eight points 57-49 with 4:23 remaining. Connors cut the margin to three points 57-54 with 3:30 left.

The Jets then scored six unanswered points over a two-minute span, increasing its lead to as much as 12 points 66-54 with 1:55 remaining. It’s a margin Connors could not overcome, coming no closer than five 70-65 with 22 ticks left on the clock.

Tonisha Dean just missed on a double-double for Connors scoring 15 points and pulling down eight rebounds. Tiffanie Abrams scored 13 points and Kaila Crawford scored 12 to close out the Cowgirls double-digit scoring.

Connors shot 41 percent from the field (25-of-61) and NOC-Enid 19-of-59 for 32 percent. Jets outrebounded Connors 48-36, including 23-17 on the offensive boards.

“This is a good group of girls, they battled through a lot this year,” said Kite. “I can’t complain about anything they did this season. Overall we could have had a team that would collapse, they showed a lot of character and bow-up the way they did.

“We played a top 10 team to single digits three times and just couldn’t make any magic at the end,” said Kite.

NOC-ENID 74, CONNORS STATE 65

NOC-Enid 34 40--74

Connors State 28 37—65

NOC-Enid (29-3)—Payne 20, Wallace 19, Bellamy 10, Bates 10, Briegge 7, Bledsoe 4, Fowler 3, Lang 1.

Connors State (18-13)—Dean 15, Abrams 13, Crawford 12, Hall 9, Lloyd 6, Alsenay 6, Lewis 4.

Connors Stops Murray to Reach Region II Semifinals

Shawnee-   Connors State overcame a sluggish first half and revved up its offense in the final 20 minutes of play to oust Murray State 68-59 in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Region II Tournament Thursday afternoon at the Nobel Center at Oklahoma Baptist University.

The Cowgirls (18-12) will play  top-seeded NOC-Enid  at 1 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals. Enid (28-3) defeated Western State 74-53.

Connors point guard Nikki Lewis ignited the Cowgirls offense dishing out seven assists and scoring 18 points. Five of her assists went to Tiara Hall for buckets as Hall led the Cowgirls scoring with 21 points, connecting on 9-of-12 shots. Taylor Lloyd also scored in double figures with 10 points.

Murray had four players score in double figures with Antoinette Carter leading the lady Aggies attack with 16 points. Kashyla Fields and Hannah Wedding scored 13 each and Janae McJunkins added 12.

Cowgirls shot 44 percent for the game (20-of-45) while holding the Lady Aggies to 18-of-63 attempts for 28 percent. Murray was 15-of-20 at the free throw line, all in the second half.

Concerning the first half of play, Connors head coach Eddie Kite said, “slow might be an understatement.  We really struggled. We didn’t run our offense very well and didn’t get to the free throw line.  We were just really amped up. We couldn’t relax.

“We did a nice job for the most part. If we don’t send them to the free throw line 20 times in the second half they don’t score 59 points.  But it’s good to get past this first one. ‘’

Connors broke out of its offensive slump in the second half cruising to a 12-point lead 64-52 with 1:09 left, the largest lead of the game for Connors.  The Cowgirls snapped a 44-44 deadlock on a Hall basket underneath the hoop after taking a Lewis pass with 7:19 left.  It was all Cowgirls the rest of the game.

“Nikki was a real key for us,” said Kite. “She did a nice job and had a really good week of practice. Nikki really made them (Murray) play honest and gave us a chance to get to the free throw line. She made us attack the rim. She would have had more assists if we hadn’t missed so many easy shots in the first half.”

Connors dominated the first half of play but held only a five point advantage at the break, 24-19. The margin could have been much greater, but the Cowgirls missed as many at 10 shots underneath the basket, shooting only 36 percent on 8-of-22 attempts.

It took nearly three minutes of play for either team to score to open the game and that came on a layup by Cowgirls’ Tiffanie Abrams.

At the 13:33 mark of the first half Connors held a 5-2 lead. Both clubs finally got their offensive games untrack playing to a 15-15 tie with 4:47 left. Murray grabbed their largest lead of the half 19-15 at the 3:22 mark.

Connors then pulled away scoring nine unanswered points for the 24-19 lead at the half. Hall and Alsenay led the Cowgirls scoring attack in the half with six points each. Alsenay’s points came on two 3-point shots as the Cowgirls were 2-of-6 from behind the arc.

CONNORS STATE 68, MURRAY STATE 59

Connors State 24 44 –68

Murray State 19 40 –59

Connors State (18-12)—Hall 21, Lewis 18, Lloyd 10, Alsenay 6, Abrams 6, Dean 5, Crawford 2.

Murray State (17-11)—Carter 16, Fields 13, Wedding 13, McJunkins 12, Sims 5.

Region II Games Can be Viewed on Webcast

Fans and students of Connors State Cowboys and Cowgirls basketball, who cannot attend the NJCAA Region II Basketball Tournament that begins on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee Thursday, can view the games on a web cast presented by Infinity Sports.TV.

To get the web cast go WWW. Infinity Sports.TV and click on watch “Live” button or  http://www.infinitysports.tv/region_2_webcast.html

The Cowgirls open the Tournament on Thursday at 1 p.m. against Murray State in the quarterfinals, while the Cowboys open quarterfinals play on Friday against Carl Albert State College at 1 p.m.

Semifinal play for both the men and women will be held on Saturday and the championship games on Sunday. All games will be held at Oklahoma Baptist University.

Region II Women's Pairings Set

The quarterfinal pairings of the NJCAA Region II Women’s Basketball Tournament are set following Monday night’s first round games.

Connors State (17-12), the fifth seed will play Murray State (17-10) the fourth seed at 1 p.m. Thursday at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee. Northeastern A&M (20-9) the No. 2 seed will play Eastern State (5-14) at 3 p.m. after the Lady Mountaineers defeated Redlands 67-56 on Monday night in first round play.

Top seed NOC-Enid (27-3) takes on Western State (9-17) at 6 p.m. in a quarterfinal matchup Thursday. Western State defeated Carl Albert 75-71 in Monday’s first round game. Seminole (18-8) will play NOC-Tonkawa (16-15) in Thursday’s finale at 8 p.m. NOC-Tonkawa advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Arkansas-Baptist 74-67 Monday night.

A Connors State win over Murray State will send the Cowgirls against the NOC-Enid/Western State winner in Saturday’s semifinals.

NJCAA Region II Pairings Announced

The National Junior College Athletic Association Region II basketball pairings have been announced and the Connors Cowgirls will open play on Thursday, March 8 against Murray State at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee.

The Cowgirls (17-12) and Lady Aggies (17-10) will tip-off the tournament at 1 p.m. Other first round women’s games will have Northeastern A&M (20-9) playing the winner of Redlands (13-16) and Eastern State (9-20) which is played Monday night in Wilburton in a play-in game, at 3 p.m.

Seminole (18-8) will meet the winner of a play-in game between NOC-Tonkawa (15-15) and Arkansas Baptist (21-8) at Tonkawa Monday night, at 8 p.m. Thursday, while top seed NOC-Enid (27-3) goes against the play-in winner between Western State (8-17) and Carl Albert (11-17) at Altus, 6 p.m. on Thursday.

The semifinals will be played on Saturday, with the championship game to be played on Sunday.

In the men’s bracket, Connors Cowboys (22-7) will open play on Friday at 1 p.m. against the play-in winner of Northeastern A&M (12-18) and Carl Albert (5-23) Monday night at Miami.

Other first round pairings will have NOC-Enid (20-9) playing a 3 p.m. clash against the winner of the Redlands (14-14) and Arkansas Baptist (18-12) at El Reno Monday night. NOC-Tonkawa (17-13) will play a 6 p.m. game Friday against Murray State (13-14) while top seed Eastern State plays at 8 p.m. against the play-in game winner between Seminole State (9-19) and Western State (13-16) Monday night at Seminole.

The semifinals will be Saturday and the championship game is Sunday.

Cowgirls Named to Region II and OCAC Teams

Connors State Cowgirls Tiffanie Abrams, 5-10 sophomore forward from Detroit, Mich., has been named the Region II and Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference first teams.

Named to the second team was Nikki Lewis, 5-foot, sophomore point guard from Tahlequah with Tiara Hall, 5-11 freshman center from Paris, Texas, a third team All-OCAC selection.

Taylor Lloyd, 5-9 sophomore guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., was an honorable mention OCAC selection.

Abrams averaged 15.5 points, while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 41.6 percent from behind the arc. She shot 68.7 percent at the free throw line.

Lewis averaged 12.4 points a game, while shooting 36.9 percent from the field, with 4.3 assists a game and 2.5 steals a contest.

Hall finished the regular season with a 12.3 scoring average and led the Cowgirls in rebounds pulling down 8.9 boards a game. She shot 542.1 percent from the field and was a 75 percent shooter at the free throw line.

Lloyd finished with an 8.2 scoring average this season.

WOMEN’S ALL-REGION II AND OCAC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

1^st Team

Wilka Montout – NEO 6’5” So

Antoinette Carter – Murray 6’0” So

Ashlyn Briegge – NOC Enid 5’10” So

Marisha Wallace – NOC Enid 6’2” Fr

Tiffanie Abrams – Connors 5’10” So

2^nd Team

JaQuitta Dever – Seminole 5’4” So

Megan Jones – NOC Tonkawa 5’9” So

Whitney Barnes – Carl Albert 5’3” So

Brianna Pendleton – Western 5’8” Fr

Nikki Lewis – Connors 5’2” So

All Conference 3^rd Team

Sheana Jones – Redlands 5’7” So

Oultmatou Coulibabliy – Seminole 6’2” Fr

Tiara Hall – Connors 5’11” Fr

Janae McJunkins – Murray 5’7” So

Katy Cooper – NEO 6’2” So

All Conference Honorable Mention:

Arkansas Baptist: Angi Ramey, Cassie Vaughn, Bianca Brooks

Carl Albert: Shelby Trozzi

Connors: Taylor Lloyd

Eastern: Demetra Howlingwolf, Ashley Catlett

Murray: Carneisha Sims

NEO: BriAnna Garza

Northern-Enid: Chelsea Bates

Northern-Tonkawa: Delaney Jones, Cheniqwa Banks

Redlands: Laila Suleiman, Ndeye Ngom

Seminole: Brittany Harris, Jalissa Council, Tiara Dewberry

Western: Sharna Polk, Cetoria Petties

Cowgirls Smash Western State on Sophomore Night

Connors State trailed Western State only once in the ballgame, 3-2 at the 17:48 mark of the first half and just 30 seconds later took the lead for good on a bucket by Tiffanie Abrams and it was the Cowgirls ball game the rest of the way on Sophomore Night.

Connors rolled to a 74-60 win over visiting Western State  in the home finale at Melvin Self Field House Monday night in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash.

Connors with the victory improves to 17-11 on the year and 10-7 in Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference play. Western State falls to 9-14 and 5-12 in OCAC play. Connors will go on the road Thursday for its final game of the season at Wilburton against Eastern State. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

It was the final home game of the season for sophomore’s Kaila Crawford, Nikki Lewis, Taylor Lloyd, Megan Alsenay and Abrams.

Freshman Taira Hall led the Cowgirls scoring with 23 points followed by Abrams’ 16 points, and Crawford’s 13 points.

“Tiara (Hall) played really well and Tiffanie picked it up in the second half,” said head coach Eddie Kite. “It was a very lethargic game and a lot of that has a got to do who you are playing. You just have to make sure you don’t play down this time of the year.

“We have got to start playing to our potential,” said Kite.

Western State’s scoring was pace by Brianna Pendleton’s 18 points with Sharna Polk scoring 11 points.

Connors held a commanding 32-12 lead at the break and increased its lead to 20 points 57-37 with 11:16 remaining. Western State made a mild comeback in the final 10 minutes, cutting the Cowgirls lead to 10 points, 70-60 with 45 seconds left.

Cowgirls Bid to Upset No. 9 NOC-Enid Falls Shorts

ENID—Connors Cowgirls sustained a heartbreaking 5-3-52 loss against league leading Northern Oklahoma-Enid, missing three shots inside the paint with 8-seconds remaining to fall short of the upset bid of the 9^th-ranked team in the NJCAA national poll.

The loss drops the Cowgirls to 16-12 for the year and 9-8 in OCAC play. The Lady Jets are 26-3 on the season and 16-1 in league play.

Connors held a 40-36 lead with nine-minutes to play but gave up three consecutive 3-point baskets to trail 49-42 with four-minutes remaining.

Cowgirls battled back to within a point, 53-52 with 18 seconds left and forced a jump ball with 14 seconds left to regain the ball. That’s when the Cowgirls missed three opportunities to win the game, but could not put the ball in the hoop.

Tiffanie Abrams led the Cowgirls scoring with 12 points with Tiara Hall adding 11 and Nikki Lewis and Kaila Crawford scoring 9 points each. Marisha Wallace led the Lady Jets scoring with 19 points.

Connors will close out its home season against Western State on Monday night at Melvin Self Field House.

Cowgirls Surge Past Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa

Connors State overcame a barrage of 3-point shots by the Lady Mavericks in the first half, eight from behind the arc, to deadlock Northern Oklahoma- Tonkawa 35-35 at the half and then took charge in the final 20 minutes to post a 77-60 win over the Lady Mavericks in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash Monday night at Melvin Self Field House.

“We gave up too many 3-pointers at the half and we discussed that at the break, and in the second half we did much better on defense,” said head coach Eddie Kite. “Our containment was much better  and we had a lot more one-and-dones. Overall we played much better. We attacked the paint and our transition game was much better.”

Cowgirls the the lead for good 47-44 on a 3-point basket by Tiffanie Abrams with 13:51 left. Connors overwhelmed NOC-Tonkawa the rest of the way to secure the victory.

Tiara Hall led the Cowgirls scoring barrage with a double-double, scoring 21 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. Abrams followed with 18 points.

The Cowgirls improve to 16-10 on the season and 9-6 in Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference play, while the Lady Mavericks fall to 13-14 and 8-7 in league action.

Connors stretched its lead to 17 points, 68-50 with 4:10 remaining, the largest CSC lead of the game, as the Cowgirls outscored the Lady Mavericks 21-5 to put the game away.

Cowgirls will go on the road Thursday, to battle Northern Oklahoma-Enid Jets in an OCAC clash in Enid.

CSC to Establish Athletic Hall of Fame

Connors State College will induct its first Athletic Hall of Fame class in October, announced Connors State Athletic Director and head basketball coach Bill Muse.

“We are very excited about establishing our Athletic Hall of Fame with athletes who excelled in athletics both on and off the playing fields at Connors State College,” said Muse. “This is an exciting time for Connors State and we are looking forward to our first induction in October.

“The Connors State Hall of Fame is the highest athletic honor that can be bestowed on a Cowboy and Cowgirl that participated in athletics. We are asking all former athletes and individuals, who coached, played, participated and were fans of Connors State sports, to make nominations for the first class,” said Muse.

Nominations can be made to CSC Athletic Director Bill Muse by clicking on the form on the athletic web site under Hall of Fame at Connorsathletics.com and sending it electronically or mailing the form to Bill Muse at Connors State College, Route 1, Box 1000 Warner, Okla. 74469-9700. All nominations must be received by July 15th.

A committee will be established to determine the inductees and the number to be accepted into the Hall of Fame each year.

Nominees must be persons of outstanding quality, high moral character, and fine leadership ability and must be held in high esteem by their colleagues, former coaches and former athletes. Nominations may be made any anyone.

Those inducted into the Connors State Athletic Hall of Fame will be honored at an October banquet.

“This will be an annual event at Connors and one that any former Cowboy or Cowgirl will cherish for a lifetime,” said Muse.

Poor Shooting Dooms Cowgirls Against Seminole State

SEMINOLE-- Connors Cowgirls shot only 26 percent from the field for the game, and just 17 percent in the second half falling to the Seminole State Belles in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash Monday night on the Belles home floor.

The loss drops the Cowgirls to 15-10 for the season and 8-6 in OCAC play. The Belles go to 14-7 and 8-5.

Connors point guard Nikki Lewis played only 15 minutes of the contest due to an injury and she finished with just three points as the Cowgirls were never able to get into an offensive rhythm.

Tiffanie Abrams and Tiara Hall led the Connors scoring with 11 points each. Kaila Crawford followed with 8 points and Dakota Garrett scored 6.

Jaquitta Devers led the Belles’ scoring with 14 points.

The Cowgirls return to action on Monday, Feb. 20 at Melvin Self Fieldhouse against Northern Oklahoma –Tonkawa for a 6 p.m. tip-off.

Cowgirls Rebound to Dump Northeastern A&M

Connors Cowgirls rebounded from a disappointing loss to Redlands last week to win back the battle of the traveling “ A&M Trophy” Thursday night with a 59-52 win over Northeastern A&M at the NEO Field House in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash.

The victory avenged an early season loss to the Lady Norse at Melvin Self Field House 67-58 on January 10^th.

The Cowgirls are now 15-9 on the year and 8-5 in OCAC play. NEO falls to 16-8 and 8-5 in league action.

Kaila Crawford led the Cowgirls scoring with 11 points followed by Taylor Lloyd’s 9, Tonisha Dean and Tiffanie Abrams with 8 points each.

Wilka Montout paced the lady Norse with 13 and BriAnna Garza added 12.

Connors overcome foul problems in the opening half and took a 30-30 tie into the locker room after leading by as many as 10 points in the first 20 minutes of action.

“We came out of the locker room much more focused and battled them very tough in the second half to take the lead,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite.

“We came in with a lot more focus and determination tonight, knocking down some big shot and getting big stops on defense down the stretch.”

Cowgirls to Recognize Former Players, Coaches on Feb. 27th

Connors State Cowgirls head basketball Coach Eddie Kite would like to invite all former basketball players  and coaches to campus on Monday, February 27th for a reception and to watch the current Cowgirls battle Western State College.
The reception will start at 3 p.m. at Melvin Self Field House and alumni will be recognized during half-time of the Western State game. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
“We are looking forward for all the former Cowgirl basketball players  and coaches returning to campus to renew friendships, meet old teammates and recall the past,” said Kite. “This will also give them an opportunity to keep in touch with our program, meet the current team and tell them what it means to be a Connors Cowgirl.”

For questions please contact Eddie Kite at (918) 463-6305 or assistant coach Heather Wimberly at (918) 463-6223

Cowgirls Fall to Redlands

Redlands Lady Cougars held the Connors Cowgirls scoreless the final 1:35 of the second half, breaking a 66-66 deadlock en route to a 71-66  Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference victory at Melvin Self Field House Monday night.

Connors falls to 15-8 on the year and 7-5 in OCAC play, while the Lady Cougars improve to 11-12 overall and 3-9 in league action. Connors will next play on the road Thursday night at Miami, Okla., against Northeastern A&M.

The contest was tied six times in the second half and had seven lead changes before Redlands grabbed the lead for good at 1:35. Connors Kaila Crawford was deadly at the free throw line draining 7-of-8 to keep the Cowgirls within striking distance. Connors was 16-of-19 at the free throw line.

Crawford scored 10 points in a span of six minutes, eight at the free throw line. She led the Cowgirls scoring with 15 points followed by Tiara Hall’s 14.

Shema Jones led Redlands with 15, while Marta Plasencia and Laila Sulelman scored 10 each.

Cowgirls held a 30-27 led at the intermission as the contest was tied five times in the opening 20 minutes. Redlands broke the tie with 2:46 remaining in the half on a bucket by Kaylon Haywood giving Redlands a 27-25 lead. CSC’s Tonisha Dean put the Cowboys back on top at the 2:34 mark of the half on a 3-point bucket, giving the Cowgirls a 28-27 advantage.

Lewis then drained two free throws with 13 seconds remaining in the half, putting Connors up by thee 30-27.

REDLANDS 71, CONNORS STATE 66

Redlands          27 44—71

Connors State 30 36—66

Redlands (11-10, 6-5)—Jones 15, Hayward 12, Palencia 10, Sulelman 10, Ngom 8, Woodard 6, Williams 6, Smith 4.

Connors State (15-7,  7-4)—Crawford 15, Hall 14, Lewis 10, Lloyd 9, Dean 9, Abrams 7, Garrett 2.

Cowgirls Upend Carl Albert

The Connors  Cowgirls led by Tiffanie Abrams’ 13 points and Tiara Hall’s 12,  streaked past Carl Albert State College 68-64 Thursday night on the Lady Vikings home floor in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash.

Connors improves to 14-9 on the season and 7-4 in league play while Carl Albert is now 9-11 for the year and 4-7 in OCAC action. The Cowgirls return to action on Monday, Feb. 6 against Redlands Community College at Melvin Self Field House. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

Following Abrams and Hall in the scoring was Dakota Garrett with 11, Taylor Lloyd, Nikki Lewis and Tonisha Dean with 10 points each.

Carl Albert was led by Shelby Trozzi and Whitney Barnes with 18 points each.

Connors led by as many as 12 points in the second half, before the Lady Vikings made a run at the Cowgirls.

“We got stagnate down toward the end and had to hang on to get the win in a real dogfight,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “We learned tonight how important it is to stay focused for 40 minutes.”

Cowgirls Roll Past Murray State

Connors State Cowgirls cruised to a 75-52 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Murray State Lady Aggies in a homecoming clash behind the 15-point performance of Nikki Lewis, while teammates Tiffanie Abrams and Taria Hall scored 14-points each in the triumph.

The victory improves the Cowgirls to 13-9 on the season and 6-4 in OCAC play, while Murray State drops to 12-7 and 5-5 in league action. The Cowgirls broke a fourth-place deadlock with the Lady Aggies in the OCAC standings.

It was the Cowgirls third straight victory.

“We could have put the game away in the first half, but we just missed so many layups the first half,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “I think we missed 12 point-blank shots. We talked about being focused at halftime for the second half, setting the tone. They did a good job in the second half.

“I believe we are starting to click a little bit better now.”

The only part of the Cowgirls game that disappointed Kite was at the free throw line. Connors connected on only 17-of-34 at the line.

“As much as work on free throw shooting, that was disappointing,” said Kite. “We could have won by a bigger margin, if we hit our free throws and all the bunny shots we missed.”

Connors held a 12-point advantage at the half, but its lead was cut to seven on two quick buckets by the Lady Aggies.

That’s when Connors went on a 19-5 over the next 10 minutes to put the game away. The Cowgirls sprinted to a comfortable 61-40 lead with 10:02 remaining in the game to put it away.

“Our defense did a great job,” said Kite. “Our communication has really improved the last couple of games.”

The Cowgirls rolled to a 42-30 lead at the half as they dominated play with a strong perimeter game and tenacious defense.

Abrams led the first half scoring attack with 11 points, with Lloyd and Hall adding 8-points each.

Connors held its largest lead of the opening half, a 14-point margin, 41-23 with 2:23 remaining in the period. The Connors took the lead for good in the half 8-7 on a free throw by Tonisha Dean at the 16-:03 mark. It was all Cowgirls the rest of the half.

CONNORS STATE 75, MURRAY STATE 52

Murray State 30 22 –52

Connors State 42 33—75

Murray State (12-7, 5-5)—Carter 19, McJudkins 11, Treas 8, Sims 6, Wedding 5, Aburimen 3.

Connors State (13-9, 6-4)— Lewis 15, Abrams 14, Hall 14, Lloyd 9, Dean 9, Crawford 6, Alesnay 5, Garrett 3.

Cowgirls Rout Eastern State

Connors State used a 9-0 run early in the first half and Eastern State never recovered as the Cowgirls cruised to a 73-54 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference victory over the Lady Mountaineers at Melvin Self Field House Thursday night.

Connors improves to 12-9 on the season and 5-4 in OCAC play, while Eastern remains winless in conference action at 0-8 and 5-14 on the season.

The Cowgirls led 20-8 on a 9-0 run at the 13:28 mark of the opening 20 minutes and held a comfortable 40-25 advantage at the intermission. The Cowgirls were never threatened by the Lady Mountaineers in the final 20 minutes, leading by as many as 22 points.

Tiffanie Abrams led the Cowgirls scoring with 17 points and Nikki Lewis, also scored in double figures with 14 points, as did Kaila Crawford, who added 11 points.

“Every game is going to have waves and we just had more than they did,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “I thought Nikki and Tiffanie did a nice job of scoring.

“Overall we did a good job defensively. We’ve won two straight now and I am hoping we’re getting into some kind of rhythm.”

Eastern State’s scoring was led by Ashley Catlett with 16 points and Patrina Goree added 14.

The Cowgirls will next battle Murray State on Monday, January 30 at Melvin Self Field House.

Connors State 73, EASTERN STATE 54

Eastern State 25 29—54

Connors State 40 33—73

Eastern State  (5-13, 0-7)—Carlett 16, Goree 14, Hicks 9, Howlingwolf 6, Tass 5, Burris 2, Stewart 2.

Connors State (11-9, 4-4)—Abrams 17, Lewis 14, Crawford 11, Lloyd 9, Alsenay 9, Hall 6, Garrett 4, Dean 3.

Cowgirls Upend Western State

ALTUS-- Connors State Cowgirls placed three players in double-figure scoring led by Tiffanie Abrams’ 24 points to capture an 86-74 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Western State College Monday night on the road.

Tiara Hall poured home 20 points and Kaila Crawford scored 18 in the win. Nikki Lewis scored 9 and Taylor Lloyd added 8 points. Breanna Pendleton led the Lady Pioneers with 24 points.

Connors State improves its record to 11-8 for the season and is now 4-4 in conference action. Western State is now 6-8 and 2-6 in OCAC play.

Cowgirls broke open the tight battle in the second half with six 3-point baskets and some tenacious defensive play in the final 10 minutes to shut down Western State’s offensive assault.

The Cowgirls return home to Melvin Self Field House on Thursday night, playing host to Eastern State. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.

Cowgirls Upset Bid of Northern Oklahoma-Enid Falls Short

Connors Cowgirls bid to upset the No. 11-ranked NJCAA team fell short as Connors could not overcome a 17-point second half advantage by visiting Northern Oklahoma-Enid, falling 84-78 at Melvin Self Field House Thursday night.

NOC-Enid won the game at the free throw line draining 21-of 22 in the second half and finished with 28-0-31 from the stripe. The Cowgirls went to the line just 13 times and converted 6.

Tiffanie Abrams led the Cowgirls scoring with 21 points, 18 from behind the arc, as she connected on 6-of-11 attempts. Nikki Lewis followed with 12 points while Kaila Crawford and Tonisha Dean scored 10 each.

Connors with some deadly 3-point shooting in the final 20 minutes battled back to within two points 80-78 with 17-seconds remaining in the game.  Abrams drained a 3-point shot right of the lane to narrow the Lady Jets lead to 80-78.

That was as close as the Cowgirls would come as NOC-Enid converted four straight free throws to secure the victory in the final 15 seconds. The Lady Jets held a 17-point advantage 59-42 with 12:30 remaining when Connors battled back.

Ashley Briegge led the Lady Jets scoring with 24 points with Marisha Wallace pouring in 22. Sherri Lang added 10 in the win.

The Cowgirls will next travel to Altus on Monday to battle Western State College.

NORTHERN OKLAHOMA-ENID 84, CONNORS STATE 78

NOC-Enid         35 49 – 84

Connors State 33 45 –78

NOC-Enid (15-2, 6-0) – Briegge 24, Wallace 22, Lang 12, Payne 10, Bellamy 6, Bates 6, Fowler 2, Bledsoe 2.

Connors State (10-8 3-4)—Abrams 21, Lewis 12, Crawford 10, Dean 10, Lloyd 9, Hall 4.

Cowboys, Cowgirls Play Host to NOC-Enid Tonight

Connors State Cowboys and Cowgirls return home Thursday night (Jan. 19)  to battle Northern Oklahoma-Enid in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference basketball clash at Melvin Self Field House.

The Cowboys, who are 13-3 on the season and 4-2 in OCAC, will play the Jets at 8 p.m., who are 11-5 on the year and 3-2 in conference action.

Cowboys will seek to rebound from a disappointing 63-60 loss to NOC-Tonkawa on Monday. NOC-Enid is coming off a 72-54 victory over Western State.

The Cowboys are one-game back of Murray State (5-1), who sits atop the OCAC standings. Connors and Northeastern A&M are at 4-2 and Eastern State, ranked No. 11 in the NJCAA rankings is at 3-2.

The Cowgirls and Lady Jets will play at 6 p.m. The Lady Jets enter the game ranked No. 11 in the latest NJCAA poll with a 14-2 record and a perfect 5-0 mark in the OCAC.

Connors is 10-7 on the year and 3-3 in conference play.

Men’s OCAC Standings

Team                             Conf.           Season

Murray State                5-1               8-7

Connors State              4-2             13-3

Northeastern A&M      4-2             9-9

Eastern State               3-2               15-2

NOC-Enid                      3-2               11-5

Redlands                       3-3              7-9

Seminole                       2-3              4-11

NOC-Tonkawa              2-3              9-8

Western State              2-4              10-7

Carl Albert                    0-6               3-13

Women’s OCAC Standings

Team                             Conf.           Season

NOC-Enid                    5-0                 14-2

Seminole                    4-1                  10-3

Northeastern A&M   4-2                  12-5

Murray State               3-3                10-5

Connors State             3-3                10-7

Carl Albert                  3-3                 11-6

NOC-Tonkawa            2-3                7-10

Western State            1-5                5-7

Cowgirls Fall at Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa

The Cowgirls lost their shooting touch in  the second half shooting only 24 percent as the Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa Lady Mavericks dictated the pace of the game in the final 20 minutes of play  to capture a 76-65 victory at Tonkawa Monday night.

The Cowgirls are now 10-7 for the season and 3-3 in Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference play.  The Cowgirls will return to action on Thursday night at Melvin Self Field House to play NJCAA 11^th-ranked and OCAC conference leader Northern Oklahoma-Enid (14-2, 5-0) at 6 p.m.

Tiara Hall led the Connors State scoring with 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for a double-double. Taylor Lloyd, who fouled out in the second half, finished with 13 points, while Tonisha Dean recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Kaila Crawford and Nikki Lewis scored 5 points each with Dakota Garrett and Megan Alsenay scoring four and two points respectively.

Megan Jones led Northern Oklahoma’s scoring with 24 points as the Lady Mavericks are now 7-10 on the season and 2-3 in league action.

Cowgirls Drop Seminole at Free Throw Line

 The Cowgirls won the game at the free throw line draining 18-of-20 free throws, 14-of 16 in the final 5:44 of play to secure  an 82-76  win over the Seminole State Belles at Melvin Self Field House Thursday night.

Tiara Hall led the Cowgirls scoring with 22 points, while Tiffanie Abrams came off the bench to pour in 17 and Nikki Lewis, who was in foul trouble much of the first half finished with 14 points.

Connors is now 10-6 on the year and 3-2 in OCAC play. The Cowgirls will return to action on Monday night with a road game at Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa.

The Belles scoring was led by Beittany Hays with 25 points with Oolaymaton Conday adding 10.

 “We did a great job at the free throw line and we stress that in practice,” said head coach Eddie Kite. “We finished the game tonight, something we haven’t been doing well. We played much better defense in the second half.”

The Belles held a two-point lead, 35-33, at the break on a pair of free throws by Cherrell Price with 25 ticks on the clock.

In the first 20 minutes of play the contest was tied five times the Belles breaking out to a 7-0 lead to open the game. The Cowgirls tied the game at 9-9 with 14:02 left in the first half and took its first lead 13-11 on a bucket by Abrams with 12:40 remaining.

Cowgirls’ largest lead of the half was three points 29-26 with 4:15 left in the half, before the Belles regained the lead 33-32 with 2:02 left in the first half on a Maraea Kelemete bucket.

Connors State 82, Seminole State 76

Seminole State   35 41--76

Connors State     33 49--82

Seminole State (9-3, 3-1)—Hays 25, Conway 10, Day 9, Council 9, Price 7, Newberry 6, Kelemete 5, Dever 5.

Connors State  (10-6, 3-2)—Hall 22, Abrams 17, Lewis 14, Alsnay 7, Dean 7, Garrett 6, Lloyd 5, Crawford 4.

Cowgirls Fall to Northeastern A&M

Northeastern A&M went on a 16-0 run late in the second half and held the Connors Cowgirls to just 7 points the final 10:47 to take home a 67-58 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference victory Tuesday night at Melvin Self Field House.

The loss drops the Cowgirls to 9-6 on the year and 2-2 in OCAC play, while the Lady Norse go to 10-5 and 2-2 in league action. Connors State will now look ahead to a Thursday night contest at home against Seminole State at 6 p.m.

Niki Lewis, who scored the Cowgirls final 7 points of the game, led Connors’ scoring with 17 points. NEO’s Wilka Montout led the Lady Norse with 23 points.

“We were down six points in the second half and took an 8-point lead, but just couldn’t score in the final 10 minutes of play,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite.

NEO held a 34-27 lead at the intermission going on a 7-0 run in the final four minutes of play. The Cowgirls took their first lead of the game at the 12:00 mark 12-10 on a 3-point shot by Lewis. NEO regained the lead for good in the first half 22-20 with 7:05 remaining on back-to-back baskets by Kayla Anderson.

The Cowgirls held a 8-point lead 51-43 with 10:47 left in the contest, and the Lady Norse then went on a 16-0 run to get the victory.

“We just quite playing good basketball toward the end,” said Kite.

NORTHEASTERN A&M 67, Connors State 58

Northeastern A&M  34 33--67

Connors State              27 31--58

Northeastern A&M   (10-5, 2-2)– Moatout 23, Fernandez 12, Garza 8, Cooper 7, Anderson 7, Schieber 6, Harbert 4.

Connors State  (9-6, 2-2)– Lewis 17, Loyd 8, Dean 8, Hall 6, Crawford 6, Garrett 5, Abrams 5, Alsnay 3.

Cowgirls Avenge Early Season Loss to Coffeyville

Connors Cowgirls avenge an early season loss to the Coffeyville Red Ravens Thursday night at Melvin Self Field House, rallying from a first half deficit and then holding off a late Coffeyville threat for a 70-66 victory.

Connors improves to 9-5 on the year while the Red Ravens are even at 7-7.The Cowgirls will resume play on Jan. 10, against Northeastern A&M at Melvin Self Field House in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash.

The Red Ravens defeated the Cowgirls 92-71 in the Coffeyville Classic on Nov. 12.

Tiffanie Abrams and Taylor Lloyd led the Cowgirls scoring attack with 15 points each while Nikki Lewis added 14 in the victory. Tonisha Wilson led Coffeyville with 18.

Connors cruised  to an 11-point lead in the second half 49-38 with 15:28 remaining before the Red Ravens battled back to take the lead 66-56 with 2:48 left.

  Cowgirls’ Kaila Crawford put Connors back on top to stay with 2:17 remaining, 67-66 on an 8-foot shot inside the paint. Lloyd then put the game away with a shot from behind the arc with 1:45 left and the Cowgirls defense then shut down Coffeyville’s offense the rest of the way.

The Cowgirls held a 36-34 lead at the intermission and did not snare its first lead of the game until 10:01 left in the half on a bucket by Lloyd giving the Cowgirls a 21-18 lead when she drained a 3-point shot from the right side.

Connors’ Lewis tied the game at 21-all on a driving layup with 10:50 left in the half.

The Cowgirls largest lead of the first half was five points 32-27wth 3:16 remaining. Coffeyville tied the game at 34-all before Lewis made a steal, and dished the ball off to Abrams, who scored the easy basket on a layup for the 36-34 lead at the half.

Connors was 18-of-49 from the field, which included 8-of-15 from behind the arc. Coffeyville was 21-of-46 from the field and just 6-of-21 from 3-point range.

CONNORS 70, COFFEYVILLE 66

Coffeyville 34 32-66

Connors 36  34—70

Coffeyville (7-7)—Wilson 18, Robinson 10, Miller 8, Turner 7, Frazier 6, Price 6, Johnson 5, Rhoiney 4, Green 2.

Cowgirls Hammer Mid-South Community College

Despite a slow offensive start the Connors State Cowgirls rolled over Mid-South Community College 86-41 at Melvin Self Field House Saturday afternoon.

The win improves the Cowgirls record to 8-5 and will look ahead to a non-conference clash with Coffeyville Community College on Thursday at Melvin Self Field House. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

Four Cowgirls scored in double figures with Tiffanie Abrams leading the Connors offensive assault with 20 points. Tonisha Dean scored 17 points and pulled down 8 rebounds in the win.

Point-guard Nikki Lewis scored 14 and dished out 10 assists, while Taylor Lloyd scored 10.

Mid-South’s scoring was placed by Shametress Williams’ 11 points.

The Cowgirls failed to score the first 4:15 of the contest, however, its defense took charge forcing Mid-South turnovers resulting in Connors points with its transition game.

Connors held a 49-13 lead at the half and was never contested by Mid-South. It was the Cowgirls second win of the season over Mid-South, taking an 85-47 win on Nov. 19 at West Memphis, Ark.

Cowgirls Rally Past Redlands

El RENO – Connors State Cowgirls rallied from an 11-point deficit with 11-minutes remaining to post a 68-63 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Redlands Community College Cougars Thursday night.

The Cowgirls are now 7-5 on the season and 2-1 in league play.

The Cowgirls trailed 36-29 at the half and behind by 11 points with 11:00 left, but regained the lead with 4:30 left in the contest.  Connors secured the win with three consecutive defensive stops in the final minute of play and sealed it at the free throw line.

Connors connected on 13-of-16 attempts at the free throw line, as Nikki Lewis led the Cowgirls scoring attack with 19 points and had 6 assists. Tiffanie Abrams poured home 15 points, followed by Kaila Crawford with 13.

Tiara Hall recorded a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Tonisha Dean scored 9 points and Dakota Garrett 2.

The Cougars were led by Lila Suleiman with 16 points and Lissette Plasencia added 15.

The Cowgirls will step out of conference play on Saturday afternoon to play Mid-South Community College at 4 p.m. at Melvin Self Field House. The Cowgirls defeated Mid-South in an earlier meeting on Nov. 19, 84-47 at West Memphis, Ark.

Cowgirls Run Past Carl Albert

Connors State Cowgirls romped to an 88-54 victory over Carl Albert State College Tuesday night at Melvin Self Field House behind the 30-point performance of Tiffanie Abrams in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference clash.

The victory lifts the Cowgirls to a 6-5 season record and evened its OCAC mark at 1-1. The Vikings fall to 4-5 on the year and 1-1 in league action. The Cowgirls will next meet Redlands Community College at El Reno on Thursday.

“We started a little slow, but our defense got us a lot of offensive rebounds, which created a lot of second chance opportunities,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “We attacked the basketball and overall I thought we did a good job.

“Our defense created a lot of turnovers and that created a lot of transition baskets. We then started to run the floor pretty good. It was a good team effort.”

Nikki Lewis and Taira Hall added 11 points each in the win with Tonisha Dean scoring 10. Whitney Bames led Carl Albert with 12 points.

The Cowgirls used a pressing defense to cruise to a 20-point lead at the half, 43-23 over the visiting Vikings and was never contested the remainder of the contest. The Cowgirls largest lead of the contest was 34 points, 88-49 with 1:43 remaining in the game.

CONNORS STATE 88, CARL ALBERT 54

Carl Albert 23 31 –54

Connors State 43 45 – 88

Connors State  (6-5, 1-1)—Abrams 30, Hall 11, Lewis 11, Dean 10, Lloyd 9, Crawford 7, Alsenay 7, Garrett 3.

Carl Albert (4-5, 1-1)— Bames 12, Trozzi 9, Brown 8, Palmer 7, Goode 5, Stafford 4, Steed 4, Watson 3, Ware 2.

Cowgirls Fall Short Against Lon Morris

JACKSONVILLE, TEXAS – Connors State Cowgirls fell to host Lon Morris in a heartbreaker, failing to score in the final 44 seconds of play after holding a 3-point lead, losing 78-75 in the Lon Morris Classic Saturday afternoon.

The Cowgirls are now 5-5 on the year and will play Carl Albert State College Tuesday a6 6 p.m. at Melvin Self Fieldhouse in an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference game.

“The girls played their best basketball of the season to this point,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “We are finally starting to get healthier and developing a better team identity. I like how we are progressing now.”

Cowgirls’ scoring was pace by Tiara Hall’s 21 points with Taylor Lloyd scoring 17 and Kaila Crawford 12.

Byronesha Santiago led Lon Morris with 21 points with Meghan Braeur 15, while Dominique Edwards and Arianna Jones draining 14 each.

Connors battled back from a 12-point deficit in the second half and cut the Lon Morris lead to five points, before the Connors got into foul trouble, as three Cowgirls fouled out of the game.

Cowgirls Pop Kilgore College

JACKSONVILLE, TEXAS – Connors State Cowgirls rolled  to a 73-66 win over Kilgore College Friday night in the Lon Morris College Classic behind the 25-point scoring performance of Nikki Lewis.

The Cowgirls improved to 5-4 on the season and will play host Lon Morris at noon Saturday.

“This was a huge win for us on the road for a team that has battled through a lot of injuries,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “We grew up a lot tonight. We stayed focused down the stretch, taking care of the basketball when they pressed us late.”

Connors had only 14 turnovers on the night, just four in the second half of play.

Connors held an early 18-5 lead and held a 42-38 lead at the intermission, overcoming some late foul problems in the first half.

Tiffanie Abrams, Taylor Lloyd and Tosha Dean joined Lewis in double-figure scoring with 15, 11 and 10 points respectively. Tiara Hall led the Cowgirls in rebounding with 10 boards.

Audrea Gamble led Kilgore’s scoring with 24 points.

Murray State Tops Cowgirls in Conference Opener

 Connors State Cowgirls held a six-point lead in the final four minutes of play only to have it slip away as Murray State grabbed a 68-62 win in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both clubs Monday night at Tishomingo.

Connors State falls to 4-4 on the season and 0-1 in OCAC play while Murray State remains perfect on the season at 4-0 and 1-0.

The Cowgirls will travel to Jacksonville, Texas on Friday to play in the Lon Morris Classic.

The Cowgirls held a 21-20 lead at the intermission, but was outscored 48-41 in the final 20 minutes of play.

“We just gave up some key offensive rebounds in the final four minutes  and made a couple of unforced turnovers down the stretch,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “That was the difference in the game. Murray is a very solid team.

“You can’t make errors like that on the road and expect to win.”

Tonisha Dean led three Cowgirls in double-figure scoring with 17 points. Kaila Crawford  scored 13 points and Tiara Hall added 10.

The Lady Aggies scoring was led by Antoineete Carter’s 23 points with Angela Pachoddy adding 14 in the win.

Cowgirls Roll Past Mid-South Community College

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. – Connors State Cowgirls girls snapped a two-game losing streak with an 85-47 victory over Mid-South Community College Saturday night.

The Cowgirls are now 4-3 on the season and will open Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday at Tishomingo against Murray State.

“We played very solid defense especially in the first half,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “We dominated the boards, out-rebounding Mid-South 54-38.

Cowgirls had five players score in double figures with Tiara Hall leading the way with 18 points. Nicki Lewis scored 15, followed by Taylor Lloyd with 11, Tiffanie Abrams 10 and Megan Alsenay  10.

Brittany King led the Lady Greyhounds  scoring with 8 points, while Marquaila Williams and Shametress Williams scored  7 points each. Mid-South Community College remains winless on the season at 0-8.

CONNORS STATE 85, MID-SOUTH 47

Connors State  43 42--85

Mid-South  20  27-- 47

Connors State (4-3)—Tiara Hall 18, Nikki Lewis 15, Taylor Lloyd 11, Tiffanie Abrams 10, Megan Alsnay 10, Tonisha Dean 8, Kaila Crawford 5, Dakota Garrett 5, Staci Simeroth 3.

Mid-South (0-8)—King 8, M. Williams 7, S. Williams 7, Boyd 7, McCoy 6, Wright 5, Washington 5, Nesbitt 2.

Cowgirls Fall to Coffeyville CC

COFFEYVILLE, Kan. – Connors State Cowgirls never got its offense untrack and fell to the Coffeyville Red Ravens 92-71 Saturday afternoon in the Coffeyville Classic.

The Cowgirls trailed 48-33 the intermission and battled back to within 12 points in the final 20 minutes of play.

“We just dug ourselves too deep of a hole at the start,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie. Kite. “We came back a little in the second half, but just ran out of gas.”

Tiffanie Abrams led the Cowgirls’ scoring with 17 points with Kaila Crawford scoring a double-double with 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Taylor Lloyd also scored in double-figures with 10 points.

The Cowgirls return to action next Saturday going on the road to play Mid-South Community College.

COFFEYVILLE CC 92, CONNOR STATE 71

Connors State 33 38—71

Coffeyville 48  44 – 92

Connors State (3-3) – Tiffanie Abrams 17, Kaila Crawford 13, Taylor Lloyd 10, Tonisha Dean 7, Tiara Hall 6, Megan Alsenay 1.

Coffeyville –Neely 14, Johnson 14, Robinson 13, Price 11, Turner 10, Wilson 9, Miller 8, Britton 6, Rhoiney 4, Frazier 2.

Cowgirls Fall to Independence CC

COFFEYVILLE, KAN. -- Independence Lady Pirates took advantage of Connors State’s cold shooting in the second half to grab a 70-60 win at the Coffeyville Community College Classic Friday afternoon.

The loss drops the 11^th-ranked Cowgirls to 3-2 on the season and will play host Coffeyville at 3 p.m. Saturday.

“We just went cold the final 25 minutes of play,” said Cowgirls coach Eddie Kite. The Cowgirls shot a season low 34 percent from the field, connecting on only 3-of-17 from behind the arc.

Tiffanie Abrams led the Cowgirls’ scoring with 13 points. Tiara Hall, who fouled out in the contest, finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

Nikki Lewis and Taylor Lloyd scored 11 points each. Kaila Crawford and Megan Alsenay each had five points.

Diara Moore and Dominique Mosley led the Lady Pirates scoring with 14 points each, with Girlie Curtis and Courtney Waldner adding 10 each.

Cowgirls Blitz Bacone JV Again

Connors State Cowgirls blitzed the Bacone Warriors JV 110-36 Tuesday night at the Palmer Center on the Bacone campus behind the 25-point performance of Tiffanie Abrams.

The 11th-ranked Cowgirls are now 3-1 on the season heading into a Friday afternoon game in the Coffeyville Classic against Independence Community College at 1 p.m.

It was the second win of the season over the Bacone JV squad. The Cowgirls defeated the Lady Warriors in the season opener 112-44.

Five other Cowgirls joined Abrams in double figure scoring, Tiara Hall scored 24 points and pulled down 8 rebounds, Taylor Lloyd poured home 15 points and had 7 assists along with 7 steals.

Nikki Lewis added 12 points, while Kaila Crawford and Meagan Alseney scored 11 points each. Staci Simeroth and Tonisha Dean scored 9 and 3 points respectively.

The Cowgirls shot a sizzling 65 percent from the field and outrebounded Bacone 36-28.

Cowgirls Fall to Northark

Harrison, Ark. –The 11^th-ranked Connors State Cowgirls fell to host Northark Community College 84-71 in the Northark Classic Saturday afternoon.

Connors is now 2-1 heading into a Tuesday night contest against Bacone JV on the Warriors home floor at 6 p.m.

Nikki Lewis led the Cowgirls scoring with 26 points and had 7 assists, while Tiffanie Abrams recorded a double-double, scoring 19 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Tonisha Dean also registered a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Tiara Hall collected 10 rebounds in the loss.

It was the Cowgirls third game in three days for the shorthanded squad which played only six players.  “We played hard, but it was just too much for our injured team to overcome,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “We’ll bounce back.”

The Cowgirls trailed by only a point at the intermission 36-35 but could not overcome the Pioneers second-half surge.

NORTHARK 84, CONNORS STATE 71

Connors State 35 36—71

Northark 36 48 – 84

Connors State (2-1) --  Lewis 26, Abrams 19, Dean 11, Lloyd 4, Alsenay 4, Hall 2, Simeroth 2.

Northark –Tenberge 16, Prochoska 15, Donson 13, Poole 10, Smith 8, Irvine 7, Wade 8, Johnson 5, Case 4

Cowgirls Blast Central Baptist JV

HARRISON, Ark. – The 11^th-ranked Connors State Cowgirls remained unbeaten with a 93-51 victory over Central Baptist University JV in the Northark Community College Classic Friday night.

The Cowgirls, now 2-0, will meet host Northark at noon Saturday.

“We started sluggish, but came on in the second half with some solid play,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite.

Sophomore point guard Nikki Lewis poured in 31 points to lead the Cowgirls scoring attack as Connors held a commanding 46-26 lead at the intermission and cruised to the victory.

Lewis had 11 steals and five assists to lead a strong defensive effort by the Cowgirls.

Tiffanie Abrams and Tiara Hall each scored a double-double. Abrams poured in 24 points and led the Cowgirls with 15 rebounds, while Hall scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Tonisha Dean also scored in double figures for the Cowgirls with 18 points.

No. 11 Cowgirls Pound Bacone JV

Tiffanie Abrams and Tonisha Dean drained 33 points each in leading the 11^th-ranked Connors State Cowgirls to a season opening 112-44 victory over the Bacone College JV Thursday night at Melvin Self Fieldhouse.

“It was a very good opening night game for us,” said Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite. “I thought all the girls played extremely hard in the game with some excellent defense and offense.”

It was a career high for Dean, a sophomore and for Dean it was an impressive performance in her first collegiate game.

Tiara Hall, who was also playing in her first college game also scored in double figures with a 22-point performance. She also led the Cowgirls in rebound pulling down nine.

All eight Cowgirls put points on the scoreboard in the victory.

The Cowgirls will now go on the road beginning Friday, traveling to Harrison, Ark., to play in the Northark Classic. Connors will play host Northark Community College Friday night and Central Baptist JV on Saturday.

CONNORS STATE 112, BACONE JV 44

Bacone 19  25 –44

Connors State 63  49 – 112

Bacone JV—Casey Lovell 16, Kayla Denton 10, Micaela Galston 5, Haydee Silva 4, Tianna Arecenaux 3, Cassie Powell 2, Holly Pierce 2, Jeanie White 2.

Connors State (1-0)—Tiffanie Abrams 33, Tonisha Dean 33, Tiara Hall 22, Megan Alsenay 8, Staci Simeroth 8, Nikki Lewis 4, Taylor Lloyd 3, Kaila Crawford 1.

Cowgirls Ranked No. 11 in NJCAA Preseason Poll

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Connors State Cowgirls have been ranked No. 11 in the National Junior College Athletic Association women’s preseason basketball poll released Friday.

The Cowgirls are coming off a 27-5 record and an Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. The Cowgirls were upset in the Region II championship game on a last second buzzer-beater shot by Northern Oklahoma-Enid, which is ranked No. 5 in the preseason rankings.

“We are pretty happy with the ranking, but we know that we have a lot of work ahead to live up to the national ranking,” said head coach Eddie Kite. “The preseason poll is more based on what you did last year and this team has a lot of work to reach the goal of last season’s team.”

The Cowgirls open the season on November 4 at the Northark Classic in Harrison, Ark.

Trinity Valley Community College sits atop the poll followed by Pensacola State College, Midland College, North Idaho, NOC-Enid, Central Arizona, Hutchinson Community College, Chattanooga State, Copiah-Lincoln, and Tyler Junior College.

The second 10 is Connors State, College of Southern Idaho, Gulf Coast State, State Fair, Mo., Shelton State, Georgia Perimeter, Monroe Community College, Casper, Wyo., Arizona Western and Wabash Valley.

Basketball Season Tickets on Sale

Connors State College  basketball season tickets are now on sale, according to Athletic Director Bill Muse.

The tickets are $50 for chairback seats for 15 Cowboys and Cowgirls home games. Contact Muse at (918) 463-6231.

Cowgirls Announce 2011-12 basketball schedule

Connors State Cowgirls head coach Eddie Kite has announced the 2011-12 Cowgirls basketball schedule.

The Cowgirls will play a 29-game schedule opening the season on Nov. 3 against the Bacone Junior Varsity on Nov. 3 at Melvin Self Fieldhouse.  Connors opens Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Nov. 21 on the road at Tishomingo, Okla. against Murray State.

The Cowgirls first OCAC home game is Nov. 29 against Carl Albert State College at Melvin Self Fieldhouse.

Connors is the OCAC defending champions after posting a 27-5 record and advancing to the championship game of the Region II Tournament, losing to Northern-Enid on a last second shot.

Connors Cowgirls

Basketball Schedule

NOVEMBER

3         Bacone    JV               6:30 p.m.

4         at Northark Classic TBA

5         at Northark Classic TBA

8         Bacone JV                 6 p.m.

10      Coffeyville Classic      5 p.m.

11      Coffeyville Classic      6 p.m.

19     at Mid-South CC          4 p.m.

21     at Murray State            6 p.m.

25     at Lon Morris Classic   TBA

26     at Lon Morris Classic   TBA

29     Carl Albert                     6 p.m.

DECEMBER

1       at Redlands CC              6 p.m.

3       Mid-South CC               4 p.m.

6       Coffeyville CC               7 p.m.

JANUARY

9       Northeastern A&M     6 p.m.

12     Seminole State            6 p.m.

16     at Northern-Tonkawa 6 p.m

19    Northern-Enid                6 p.m.

23   at Western State             6 p.m.

26   at Eastern State               6 p.m.

31    Murray State                6 p.m.

FEBRUARY

2     at Carl Albert                 6 p.m.

6     Redlands CC                   6 p.m.

9    at Northeastern A&M   6 p.m.

13  at Seminole State          6 p.m.

20  Northern-Tonkawa       6 p.m.

23  at Northern-Enid           6 p.m.

24   Western State               6 p.m.

MARCH

1     Eastern State                 6 p.m.

8-11 Region II Tournament   TBA

16-20  NJCAA National Tournament  TBA

Second Cowgirls Fundraiser

WARNER – Connors State Cowgirls basketball team will be holding its second  fundraiser on April 15th at Baptist Campus Ministries on the Warner Campus.

A barbeque lunch will be served between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Baptist Campus Ministries. The lunch will include a sandwich, chips and drink for $6.00.

Briskets will be cooked by special order only and orders must be placed by Wednesday April 13th at 3 p.m. Cost of the brisket is $50.00.

For information contact Cowgirls Head Basketball Coach Eddie Kite at 918-463-6305.

All proceeds go to help support the Cowgirls basketball program

Cowgirls Basketball Fundraiser

WARNER – Connors State Cowgirls basketball team will be holding a fundraiser on Thursday, April 7^th at the Baptist Campus Ministries on the Warner Campus.

A barbeque lunch will be served between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Baptist Campus Ministries. The lunch will include a sandwich, chips and drink for $6.00.

Briskets will be cooked by special order only and orders must be placed by Wednesday, April 6^th by 3 p.m. Cost of the brisket is $50.00.

For information contact Cowgirls Head Basketball Coach Eddie Kite at 918-463-6305.

All proceeds go to help support the Cowgirls basketball program.

Cowgirls Lose Heartbreaker in Region II Championship Game

SHAWNEE – Heartbreak.

Connors State women battled back from a 17-point deficit midway the second half to tie the game, only to have Northern-Enid’s Andrea Coggin drain a 3-point shot with 3 seconds left to defeat the Cowgirls 75-72 to claim the NJCAA Region II Championship Sunday afternoon at Oklahoma Baptist University.

The loss ends the Cowgirls season at 27-5 and the Jets advance to national tournament in Salina, Kan. on March 14^th with a 28-5 record.

The Cowgirls trailed 38-27 at the half as they shot only 28 percent from the field and leading only once. They finished 26-of-74 from the floor for a 35 percent shooting night, while Enid was 27-of-52 for 51 percent.

The Jets streaked to a 17-point lead 51-34 at the 16:50 mark, behind tournament MVP Deeva Vaughn, who led the Jets in scoring with 26 points.

That’s when the Cowgirls slammed the door on the Jets with a full court press and the comeback began. The Jets were held scoreless by a tenacious Cowgirls’ defense for nearly 7-minutes, but it wasn’t enough.

Connors behind All-Tournament performer Nikki Lewis, who scored14 points, Kendra Flemming’s 17 and Taylor Loyd’s 15 pulled to within a point, 52-51 with 7:44 remaining.

It became a see-saw battle the rest of the way before the Cowgirls’ Flemming deadlocked the game at 70-all with 1:00 left.

Enid’s Vaughn put the Jets back on top 72-70 with 40 seconds left, before Flemming answered again to tie the game at 72-all with19 seconds on the clock.

Following a series of timeouts by both benches, the Jets’ Beebe, who had only 1 shot from behind the arc, connected from deep in the left corner with 3-seconds left on her second attempt to get the win for the Jets.

The Cowgirls inbound the ball following the basket, but Chelsea Kellogg’s desperation shot from midcourt missed its mark.

Cowgirls Advance to Region II Title Game

SHAWNEE – Connors State Cowgirls exploded on a 19-4 run midway the second half to put away Seminole State 65-47 and advance to Sunday’s NJCAA Region II Women’s championship game.

The Cowgirls will take a 27-4 record into the 4 p.m. game at Oklahoma Baptist University against the winner between Northeastern A&M and Northern-Enid.

Connors’ Sierra Cornwell broke a 39-39 deadlock with a drive down the  lane with 13:38 remaining to ignite the second half explosion. Cornwell was one of four Cowgirls to score in double figures, as she finished with 10 points.

The back breaker came when 5-2 freshman point guard Nikki Lewis drained back-to-back treys from 28-feet to give the Cowgirls a 55-43 advantage with 5:50 remaining. She finished with 8 points.

Tiffanie Abrams then iced the game for Connors when she drained back-to-back treys to make it 63-47 with two-minutes remaining.

Abrams led the Connors scoring with 12 points, with Kendra Flemming and Taylor Loyd scoring 10 each. Shakayla Love just missed scoring her second consecutive double-double, pulling down 12 rebounds and scoring 9 points.

The Cowgirls shot 40 percent for the game (27-of-67), while holding the Belles to just 30 percent from the floor (19-of-63. Seminole was just 2-of-16 from behind the arc.

The Belles led only one time in the final 20 minutes, 38-37 on a basket by Fanta Toure, who led the Seminole scoring with 14 points. Love regained the lead for the Cowgirls 39-38 on a short jumper.

The Belles’ Teshia Griswold then connected on the front end of  two shots at the stripe, setting the stage for Cornwell’s drive to the basket and the Connors explosion.

Kite will be making his third trip to the championship game in four years, leading the Cowgirls to the Region II championship two years ago. The year before Connors lost to University of Arkansas-Fort Smith in the title game.

A year ago the Cowgirls were sent home in the first round by Arkansas Baptist.

Cowgirls Drop Carl Albert, Advance to Semifinals

SHAWNEE –  Nikki Lewis may be the smallest point guard in junior college basketball, but the 5-4 freshman plays BIG.

The Tahlequah-Sequoyah product poured home 23 points, including five from behind the arc in leading the Connors State Cowgirls to an impressive 76-64 victory over Carl Albert State College in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Region II Women’s Basketball Tournament at Oklahoma Baptist University Friday.

The victory puts the Cowgirls, who are now 26-4 into Saturday’s 6 p.m. semifinals against Seminole State, who advanced with a 77-72 victory over Murray State.

Lewis, who was outstanding, was not alone in the double-digit scoring production for CSC. Shakayla Love scored a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, with Kendra Flemming scoring12 and Tiffanie Abrams adding 10.

Basketball Tournament Brackets

The Cowboys and Cowgirls both received #1 seeds in this year's Region II Tournaments. See how their pairings look by downloading our printable tournament brackets below:

Region II Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket 2011

Region II Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket 2011

March Madness

March Madness has arrived for the Connors State Cowboys and Cowgirls.

Beginning Thursday the Cowboys will begin its March toward the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., with a quarterfinal game in the Region II Tournament at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee against Northern-Enid at 6 p.m.

Cowgirls and Cowboys fans can view and hear all the play-by-play of every Connors State game on your computer during the Region II Tournament in Shawnee with a webcast.

The webcast for the Region II Tournament can be reached by going to www.infinitysports.tv and click on the Region II icon. That will direct you to the Connors State icon to get the game.

The Cowgirls begin Region II play on Friday at 6 p.m. against Carl Albert State College as they begin their quest for a trip to the NJCAA National Tournament in Salina, Kan.

If you can’t make the trip, the next best way to support the Cowgirls and Cowboys is go to the webcast. Thanks for your support.

Basketball Honors and Pairings

Connors State men’s basketball coach Bill Muse and women’s coach Eddie Kite were named the Region II Coaches of the Year at the region meeting Sunday at Oklahoma Baptist University.

It is Muse’s seventh time to receive the honor and it’s Kite’s second time to receive the award.

Cowboys’ Corey Wilford, 6-1 sophomore guard from Hopkinsville, N.Y. was named the Region II Player of the Year and Robert Crawford, 6-7 sophomore guard from Broken Arrow, was named to the first team along with Wilford.

Four Cowgirls were named to the All-Region squad, Kendra Fleming, 5-9 sophomore guard from Ft. Smith, Ark.; Sierra Cornwell, 5-8 guard from Preston and Shakayla Love, 6-2, freshman center from Preston were named to the second team. Freshman guard Nikki Lewis from Tahlequah was named to the third team.

The fifth-ranked Cowboys (26-3) will open Region II play on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee against the winner of Monday’s play-in game between Carl Albert (5-23) and Northern-Enid (14-16).

A win by the Cowboys would put them into Saturday’s semifinals against the Redlands (17-11) and Western State (21-8) winner at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The championship game will be played Sunday at 2 p.m.

Monday’s other play-in game involves Northeastern A&M (14-16) and Arkansas Baptist (14-15). The NEO-Arkansas Baptist winner will play Northern-Tonkawa (18-12) at 8 .m. Friday.

Eastern State (18-9) will play the winner between NEO and Arkansas Baptist at 3 p.m. Friday.

The No. 1 seed Cowgirls (26-4) will play the winner of Monday’s Carl Albert (8-18), and Eastern State (8-19) game at 6 p.m. Friday at OBU.

The other play-in game on Monday involves Northern-Tonkawa (20-10) against Arkansas-Baptist. That winner will play No. 3 seed Northeastern A&M (19-8) at 8 p.m. Friday.

Seminole State (18-10) will take on Murray State (15-12) at 1 p.m.

The semifinals will be play at 6 p.m. Saturday with the championship game at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Cowboys and Cowgirls Take Titles

Connors State Cowboys and Cowgirls are both the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference champions after posting victories Thursday night in Enid.
The Cowboys won their second consecutive OCAC crown with a 73-62 victory over Northern-Enid. The victory gives the Cowboys the top seed in the Region II Tournament to be played at Oklahoma Baptist University next week in Shawnee.
The Cowboys are 25-3 for the season and 14-3 in conference play.
The Cowgirls defeated the 16th-ranked Northern-Enid Lady Jets for a sweep of the season rivalry 76-71 to take the title and secure the No. 1 seed in the Region II tournament next week in Shawnee. The Cowgirls are now 24-4 overall and 14-3 in OCAC play.
The last time the Cowgirls won the OCAC championship was 2008 and went on to win the Region II championship and advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Salina, Kan.
The Cowboys and Cowgirls end regular season play Saturday at Melvin Self Field House. Tip-off is 2 p.m.

Cowgirls play for OCAC title and top seed in tournament

The Cowgirls travel to Enid Thursday to play Northern Oklahoma-Enid Lady Jets with the winner capturing the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. Tip-off is 6 p.m. at the Mabee Gym.

The Lady Jets hold a one-half game lead over the Cowgirls with each team having a Saturday clash. The Lady Jets are 14-3 in the conference and 24-4 for the season. The Cowgirls are  13-3 in league play and 23-4 for the season.

The OCAC champion will take the top seed in the Region II Tournament which begins on March 3 at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee.

The Cowgirls will complete its regular season on Saturday at Melvin Self Field House at 2 p.m. against Eastern State.

Basketball Homecoming vs. Seminole State College

CSC will celebrate basketball homecoming tonight as both basketball teams are ready to take on Seminole State College. The festivities will take place at halftime of the men’s game. The Cowgirls will start things off right with a 6:00pm tip-off followed by the Cowboys playing at 8:00pm.

Tonight is also being deemed Creek Nation Casino night. The first 300 fans to show up tonight will receive a Creek Nation Casino koozie at the ticket window.

A mini-camp performance to be put on by the future cheerleaders of Connors State College is also scheduled for tonight.

Come cheer both teams on as we are fighting for conference championships. This is the last week of regular season games and Connors State home games. We hope to see you there!

Basketball Final Home Games

The Connors State College Basketball Teams play their final home games of the season on Monday, February 21st, 2011 starting at 6:00pm at Melvin Self Fieldhouse. Please see the Women's Basketball schedule and the Men's Basketball schedule for more information on all the games and the upcoming playoffs.

Women's Basketball Final Home Games

The Connors State College Women's Basketball Team plays their final home game of the season on Monday, February 21st, 2011 at 6:00pm at Melvin Self Fieldhouse. Please see the schedule for more information on all the games and the upcoming playoffs.