Mbengue, Komor help lead Cowley to a 78-65 upset win over Dodge City

In what has been an up-and-down season for the Cowley College women's basketball team, the Lady Tigers continue to be tough to beat at home. With a 78-65 win over No. 11-ranked Dodge City on Saturday in Arkansas City, Cowley has knocked off two ranked opponents in the past three weeks and is now 10-4 inside W.S. Scott Auditorium.

The victory snapped a five-game skid for the Lady Tigers, as Cowley is now 12-12 overall and 6-12 in the Jayhawk Conference. Dodge City falls to 20-4 overall and 14-4 in the conference. 

On Saturday, Cowley was without injured starters Destiny Yates and Jaiden Smith. However, Cowley's five starters on Saturday played all 40 minutes with the exception of one 30-second substitution for Anna Przyszlak.

Cowley got 11 first-quarter points from freshman Zuzanna Komor to lead 20-11. Komor would shoot 8-of-9 from the floor in the opening half, and sophomore Ndack Mbengue added 11 points and 10 rebounds to help the Lady Tigers to a 36-24 halftime advantage.

Mbengue had 12 more points and another 12 rebounds in the third quarter to help Cowley maintain a double-digit lead (53-40) after three-quarters of play.

Having lost five games when leading after three-quarters of play, Cowley allowed Dodge City to pull within 58-55 following a three-pointer by Shorna Preston. However, the Lady Tigers answered with seven straight points to stretch its lead to 65-55 with 3:50 remaining following a basket by Mbengue.

Cowley would go on to the 13-point win thanks to 26 points and 24 rebounds from Mbengue.

"That was one of the most impressive individual performances we have had around here," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. "I knew she was playing well, but when I saw the final stats, that was pretty crazy."

Komor added 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting.

"The fast start by Zuzanna really got us going," Clark said.

Cowley out-shot Dodge City 49.1 percent to 30.4 percent from the floor. Kyriana Jones led four Conquistadors in double figures with 17 points, but made just 6-of-23 shot attempts.

The Lady Tigers will attempt to knock off another ranked opponent inside W.S. Scott Auditorium when they host second-ranked Hutchinson Community College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Blue Dragons are 23-0 on the season and outscore their opponents by an average of 28 points per game.

"We hope to show up and be competitive, that will be the key," Clark said.

Saturday's box score can be found at https://cowleytigers.com/sports/wbkb/2023-24/boxscores/20240210_ymba.xml?view=boxscore.