Comets get sixth consecutive win, revenge

The Cottey College Comets kept their winning streak alive on Saturday, but perhaps more important, they got revenge against the only Region XVI team to give them a loss this season as they soundly defeated St. Louis Community College-Meramec 79-52 in front of a home crowd.

The Comets were in control of this game from the opening tip as they jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first two minutes. By the nine-minute mark, Cottey had a commanding 21-10 advantage and managed to hold the double-digit lead through the remainder of the first half. By the time the first 20 minutes were over, the Comets were up 39-23.

Cottey shot extremely well in the first half, hitting 50 percent of their shots. Added to a stifling defense that kept the Magic from getting good looks at the basket, it was easy to see why the home team was rolling early. Jessica Roberts and Brittany Smith did most of the damage as they had 15 and 12 points, respectively in the first half.

In the second half, the Magic began to shoot a bit better, but the Comets were still in the driver's seat. In fact, Cottey built a 20-point lead by the 10-minute mark. Meramec began to pressure the Comets on defense and had a short run, but Cottey held tough and a nice reverse lay-in by Amanda Sanders rebuilt the lead to 20 at 65-45 with six minutes to play.

From that point on, it was just a matter of the Comets breaking the press on defense and using as much clock as possible before shooting.

Roberts led all scorers with a 27-point effort on the night. Smith had 21 points of her own while Amanda Sanders and Alex Noble chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively. Sanders finished with a double-double as she also had 12 rebounds on the afternoon.

The win was the sixth consecutive victory by the Comets and raised their record to 13-4 on the season. Even better, they raised their record against Region XVI opponents to 6-1 with three more regional contests left. On Tuesday, Feb. 3, the Comets will travel to Trenton, Mo., to face Region XVI challenger North Central Missouri College. The next home game for the Comets will be on Saturday, Feb. 7, when they face St. Louis Community College-Forest Park. That game will tip off at 2 p.m., inside the friendly confines of Hinkhouse Gymnasium.