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Comets win ugly, stay unbeaten
By Joe Warren
Nevada Daily Mail
NEVADA, Mo. -- Lacy Leonard scored 15 of her team-high 17 points in the first half and the Cottey Comets never trailed as they held off the Brown Mackie (Kan.) Lady Lions 65-52 in the final game of the Comet Shootout at the Hinkhouse Center Saturday.
Leonard came out firing, helping Cottey build a 16-6 lead with nine points in the first eight minutes.
"I thought Lacy got back on track a little bit tonight," Cottey head coach Dave Ketterman said.
Leonard, who set a school record last season averaging 21.8 points per game, had struggled offensively the first two games this season, finishing with an average of 15 points in the pair.
Leonard had that at halftime Saturday, taking advantage of nice passing from teammates to carry the offensive burden as Cottey overcame struggles elsewhere to lead 28-24.
"I thought we took a step back (as a team) in the first half," Ketterman said. "We didn't play with the energy and enthusiasm we did in the first games."
The lack of energy allowed the overmatched Lady Lions (0-6) to stick around and keep the score close, even though you never got the sense Cottey was in trouble.
In the second half Leonard got plenty of help from teammates, as Sara Sellin scored 10 of her 12 points, and Elin Lindberg added seven of her 10.
Cottey was unable to pull away from Brown Mackie though, as they led by as many as 18 but the Lady Lions always managed to creep back to within about 10.
"Give them credit, Brown Mackie did a good job of controlling the tempo," Ketterman said. "The only thing worse than an ugly win is an ugly loss."
The Comets (3-0) turn around and play their fourth game in seven days tonight when they host Baptist Bible College out of Springfield.
Ketterman acknowledged the bunching of games this early in the season had an effect Saturday.
"I still don't think we're in as good a shape as we will be," he said.
Brown Mackie controlled the boards and their athleticism gave the Comets trouble all game.
Playing less than 24 hours after their previous game, the Comets looked slow on defense, despite Ketterman changing things up throughout.
"Defensively in the first half, in neither the man or the zone did we play with any energy," Ketterman said.
The Comets used their 3-2 zone to deviate from the traditional man-to-man, but their lack of energy rendered neither to be particularly effective.
The only thing that allowed Cottey to stay in front was Brown Mackie's inability to take care of the basketball, as the Lady Lions committed 23 turnovers.
North Central Missouri College 73, Mid-America Nazarene JV 51
The Lady Pirates (5-0) had a balanced effort, as four players scored in double figures as they topped the Lady Pioneers (1-3).
Amber Vandevender led North Central with 17 points, 12 of them in the first half, as the Lady Pirates built a 34-21 halftime lead.
North Central led by as many as 24 points in the contest.
Allison Bundren scored 15 to pace Nazarene.
The Lady Pirates and Comets each finished 2-0 in the inaugural Comet Shootout, as the two NJCAA Region 16 opponents didn't face each other.