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Comets pass St. Mary
By Joe Warren
Nevada Daily Mail
The Cottey Comets jumped out to a 15-2 lead and never looked back as they pasted the St. Mary junior varsity Thursday, 81-48, at the Hink.
Playing in front of the home crowd for the first time were seven freshmen, and they didn't disappoint.
Local product Lacy Leonard stole the show, leading all scorers with 28 points. Joining her in double figures was fellow freshman Kerri Shanks, who added 13, including two shots from behind the arc.
Hume High School graduate Kayla Orear also played a big part for Cottey. Orear scored nine points and spearheaded a 2-3 matchup zone on defense that harassed St. Mary into almost 20 turnovers.
Orear also handled the point guard duties for much of the game and did her part as Cottey turned the ball over only eight times in the winning effort.
"I think Lacy got off to a good pace scoring tonight," Cottey head coach Dave Ketterman said. "Shanks didn't shoot the three like she's capable of shooting, but she still had 13 points. Kayla Orear is just fearless."
Thursday's win was a complete team effort, as Cottey (1-1) had eight different scorers, all of them with at least four points.
Eleven players got onto the court for the Comets, as they never trailed in the contest.
The Comets used seven points from Shanks and six from Leonard in their game-opening run, building a 15-2 lead with 15:20 left to go in the first half.
St. Mary, playing with only six players on the roster, cut the lead to four after a bucket by Hillary Schumacher with about eight minutes left until halftime.
Up 18-14, Cottey went on another run, this time a 12-2 jaunt, sparked by six more points from Leonard and four off the bench from sophomore Katie Taylor.
Webb City product Ashleigh Houdyshell had all six of her points in the first half, and Cottey built a 38-22 advantage going into the break.
St. Mary was unable to make a run of their own in the second half, and despite Ketterman experimenting with different lineups, the visiting Lady Spires fell behind further as the game transpired.
Cottey's final margin of victory, 81-48, was also their biggest lead of the game.
Leonard, who graduated from Nevada High School in the spring, discussed playing at the Hink for the first time.
"It was a little nerve-racking," Leonard said. "It's just like every game, you've just got to play it."
Leonard had a large following to see her first home contest.
"To have the gym full of family and friends, it was nice," Leonard said.
Cottey will host Allen County (Kan.), Wednesday, at the Hink.