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Cottey Comets fall to North Central, 70-65
By Greg Kepler
Special to the Daily Mail
In their second to last home game of the season, Dave Ketterman's team was poised to meet a team with a similar record on Tuesday night, at Hinkhouse Center. The 11-10 Comets hosted the Lady Pirates from North Central Missouri College, in Trenton, Mo., who also sported a near .500 record.
Kat Zumalt struck first for the hosts with a behind-the-head layup to give the Comets a 2-0 lead. That lead was short lived as the visitors went on an eight-point run, leading, 8-2, with 15 minutes, 37 seconds remaining in the first half.
Casey Heger added two, followed by a trey from Caley Shaffstall with 13:42 showing, bringing the Comets to within three, at 10-7. On the next play, Heger's 6-foot, 2-inch stature proved handy, as she soundly blocked a shot and forced a turnover.
With 12:53 remaining, Zumalt went long and added three, followed by another trey from Shaffstall to give the Comets the lead back, at 13-12. That lead was quickly erased, as the Lady Pirates chipped away the Comets' defense.
The Comets had trouble connecting for much of the rest of the first half. Heger, Machela VanGennip, and Cassie Hale each added one field goal and the Comets found themselves trailing, 30-19, as the clock went inside 2 minutes.
With 1:43 showing, VanGennip made two in a row from the charity stripe, then Heger and she each added a field goal. Zumalt made the second of two charity tosses with 10 seconds showing to bring the Comets within eight, at 34-26, as the buzzer sounded.
Cottey again struck first in the second half. With 20 seconds off the clock, Heger snuck one in from under the goal.
Shortly thereafter, Linsey Denney made the first of two free throws, bringing the Comets to within five, at 34-29.
Things went cold for the hosts as they saw the visitors stretch the lead to 10 at the 16:50 mark. One free throw from Denney and a field goal from Heger were all the Comets could muster.
With 14:22 left, Zumalt made another one of her now-patented behind-the-head layups, cutting the Lady Pirates' lead to 43-36. Again, Cottey's shooting went cold.
Finally, with 9:45 showing, Denny made a shot from under the bucket and Zumalt scored both charity shots 33 seconds later, getting Cottey back in the game, trailing, 52-45.
Then, things turned around. With a quick two from Zumalt and another trey from Shaffstall, the Comets were back in the game, behind by only two, 52-50.
A short burst from NCMC put them up, 56-50, but a deuce from Denney, followed by yet another trey from Shaffstall got the hosts within one, at 56-55. The visitors countered with a field goal, but Heger responded with one of her own.
At 3:07, Heger forced her way in for a layup. Forty-two seconds later, she made the front end of a one-and-one and tied the game at 60.
The visitors quickly added five to their tally before Zumalt poured in two. It was all uphill from there, as the Comets tried their best to cut the Lady Pirates' lead as the clock ticked down.
With 5 seconds showing, Heger added two and made the second of two free throws with 3 seconds left, but it just wasn't enough, as the visitors were able to stay just ahead by making free throws of their own, winning, 70-65.
Heger led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Zumalt with 15. Shaffstall poured in four treys and went 1-for-2 from the line to garner 14, followed by Denney with eight, VanGennip with six, and Hale with two.
The Comets fell to 11-11 with the loss and 4-3 in the region. They will play their final home game of the season at 1 p.m., Saturday, when the St. Louis Community College team comes calling.