ARKANSAS CITY — Turnovers, rebounds and toughness. According to NCCC women's basketball Coach Kelley Newton, these three factors determined the game's outcome from the first possession of the Lady Panthers Saturday evening match-up with the Cowley County Tigers.

The Tigers leapt out to a huge lead early in the game, quickly gaining a lead of 15-2 over Neosho County, who has only one win this season. The Panthers continued their year-long struggle by losing this contest in a 79-44 rout.

Newton said his team never recovered from this first possession.

“They were tougher than us from the get-go,” Netwon said. “They pushed us around, they got an offensive rebound on their first possession and they got three shots at it. They set the tone. A team like Cowley, that is really good, we've got to set the tone and dictate the tone.”

Neosho County did start to close the gap at one point in the first half, pulling within six about halfway through the first half.

“There's always a point in every game where you can step up to the challenge or fold up,” Netwon said. “We have that point every time, and we did have an opportunity to weather the storm in the first half, but, turnovers. There were 15 turnovers in the first half.”

The Panthers lagged behind the Tigers on both sides of the court, and could never recover from the continual attack of Cowley's offense. The Tigers had a 49-18 lead at halftime.

Things didn't get much better for NCCC in the second half, as the Panthers only scored one point in the first six minutes and ended up scoring less than they did in the first. Freshman Alexis Hafenstein did have a nice moment in the middle of this span, making two consecutive three-pointers in a row, in a game played a short distance away from her hometown of Burden. She ended up leading the team by scoring 13 points.

Amanda Laurenceau scored six points for the Panthers, and Jamaica Campbell had five.

According to Newton, his team has had the same two problems all season; they give up too many turnovers and it's tough for them to score.

“We're showing signs that we're trying to get it, once we kind of settle in and beat the press,” Newton said, “and everytime we did this and set up and ran something, we scored. So, we're going to cut that up, and find out how we can do that more often, so we can be more successful in these games.”

Newton emphasized that he wants other teams to play them the way they want to play instead of letting their opponents dictate how the game is going to go.

Newton is not letting this string of losses shatter his confidence as a coach, preferring to take it one game at a time.

“It can be very overwhelming, as a coach, to look at the big picture,” Newton said, “and say, 'Man, we've got all these games left. Oh my goodness.' I won't ever do that.”

Newton has experience, both as a player and coach, at various levels, and his “one game at a time” philosophy has served him well.

“As far as I'm concerned, I don't notice our losses. There's only one way to be as a coach. Win or lose, you've got to prepare for the next game, and I will always do that.”

After three days of practice, Newton said his Lady Panthers will be prepared take on their Allen County rivals at home on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.