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Cottey lets one slip away vs. North Central
By Jason Peake
Daily Mail Sports Editor
NEVADA --North Central gave Cottey the chance it needed by missing a free throw with six seconds to play on Wednesday night.
But a failure to block out on the missed foul shot sealed Cottey's fate in a 56-52 loss to the Pirates at Hinkhouse Gymnasium.
North Central's Brittany Williams drew a foul with her team up two with six seconds left. The sophomore guard hit the first, but missed the second.
But no one blocked out the shooter. Instead of Cottey going down with a chance to tie, the Pirates grabbed an offensive rebound and the Comets were forced to foul again, this time with just 1.4 seconds left. North Central's Kelsey Griffin made one of two at the stripe for the final margin.
"We didn't communicate and we let it bounce right back to the shooter," Cottey Coach Dave Ketterman said of the play. "It's that simple. You know, 7.4 isn't much, but it's a chance."
Despite the loss, Ketterman said he was proud of his team's effort. North Central beat Cottey by 13 points in their last meeting.
"It was a lot better effort and a lot better execution this time," Ketterman said. "There were a few mistakes we made that ended up costing us. We have to be focused the whole time to win games in this region."
Santana Cruz led Cottey with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Jordan Davidson scored 13 and Blaklee Sanders added 11 points for the Comets.
The Comets went up six early in the second half after three-straight points from Cruz. But the Pirates roared back with eight of the next nine points. From that point on, it was back and forth and close until the end, as both teams traded hoops, turnovers and the lead. North Central used a three-point play from Amanda Rodenberg to go up 49-44 with just under five minutes to play. Later, hoops from Cruz and Davidson cut the Cottey deficit to one at 51-50. The Comets had several chances to go ahead, but several jumpers from the perimeter just rimmed out. After a missed three from Cottey, North Central's Rodenberg made a layup in transition for a three-point lead. The hosts missed from the outside, North Central's Mysti Williams made one free throw and the Pirates were up four. With time running out, Cottey's Bailey Braden scored inside with a putback to make it 54-52 in favor of the Pirates with only 7.4 seconds left. That's when Brittany Williams drew a foul and went to the line, hitting the first and missing the second. And that's when Cottey was unable to secure the miss, all but sealing their fate.
"It slipped away there for a bit, but we still had a chance," Ketterman noted. "If we would have made a couple more plays we would have been okay. But we didn't. North Central made the plays down the stretch."
While Cruz and Davidson have been solid throughout the season, Ketterman said he needs more production from many of his players.
"We've got to have some people who aren't making plays, step up and make plays," Ketterman said. "I thought Blaklee played her tail off. She gave us everything she had. And Melanie Skaggs did a good job on their big kids. (Reanna) Henderson gave us some good minutes. But we've got some other people who have to step up."
Cottey, now 6-9, hosts St. Louis Community College on Saturday at 1.
North Central 56, Cottey 52
Cottey: Davidson 5 2-5 13, Rowland 1 0-0 2, Cruz 6 4-6 16, Sanders 3 5-6 11, Skaggs 1 2-4 4, Henderson 1 0-0 2, Stankovic 1 0-0 2, Braden 1 0-0 2, Eldredge 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 (1) 13-21 52. Three-pointer: Davidson. Turnovers 12.
North Central College: Rodenberg 5 4-4 14, Griffin 4 2-4 13, M. Williams 5 1-2 11, B. Williams 1 6-8 8, Simon 1 3-5 5, Conger 2 0-0 4, Hewitt 0 0-2 0. Totals 15 (3) 16-23 56. Three-pointers: Griffin 3.