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In rematch, Comets bested by Greyhounds
The Cottey Comets were defeated in a nail-biter by the visiting Fort Scott Community College Greyhounds, 60-58, Tuesday night at Hinkhouse Center.
The loss drops the Comets to 6-3.
This is the second time this season the two squads have squared off, with the Comets taking the first game 64-59, Nov. 22, at the Fourth Annual Greyhound Classic in Fort Scott.
Both teams had trouble with ball control early, as neither team scored until two-and-a-half minutes had elapsed from the clock.
With the score tied 5-5, Cottey forward Machela VanGennip scored two unanswered buckets extending the lead to 9-5 with 15:18 showing.
At 14:37 Cottey's Linsey Denney added a pair, then received a nice no-look pass from teammate Ciera Wong to give the hosts a 13-5 lead.
From that point, the Comets shooting went cold as Fort Scott put together a scoring rally of their own.
The visitors scored nine unanswered points including a 3-pointer from Sierra Shoulders, giving them a 14-13 edge. At 10:40 of the first half, Denney hit the second of two free throws to knot the score at 14-14.
It was nip-and-tuck for the rest of the half as neither team could build more than a three point lead. After seven lead changes and two ties, the Greyhounds took a slim 31-30 lead into the locker room.
Just seconds into the second-half, Cottey's Emily Allen missed a pair of free throws but quickly redeemed herself with two consecutive jump shots giving Cottey a 34-31 lead with 18:21 remaining in regulation. Fort Scott's Andrea Valadez added two, closing the gap to one.
At 17:19, Denney blocked a shot which sent VanGennip to the other end of the court with a layup. Valadez answered 40 seconds later with a deuce, bringing the Lady Greyhounds within one at 36-35. With just 10 seconds burned, Allen sank a pair only to see Fort Scott's Carlie Wilhelmi follow her own shot and sink two of her own.
With the teams changing leads tit-for-tat, VanGennip sank a trey with 11:29 remaining, giving Cottey a four point lead at 43-39.
The teams continued to trade scores for the rest of the game with Cottey mostly holding a two point lead or seeing the score tied.
At 1:13, Fort Scott tied the game at 56-56. With 32 seconds remaining, Greyhound freshman Kayleigh Haggard nailed a trey giving the visitors a three point advantage.
At 9.7 seconds, Denney was fouled and made both free throws, slicing the Greyhound lead to 59-58. With 8.9 seconds left, Fort Scott's Bret McGuire sank the second of two from the charity stripe extending the lead back to 60-58.
After several time-outs, Cottey inbounded under their own basket but failed to get a shot off as time expired.
Cottey next plays tonight at 6 p.m., hosting Allen County Community College.