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Comets downed in overtime by Hesston College
Nevada Daily Mail
The Cottey College Comets basketball team suffered their first loss of the season Friday night, falling to the visiting Hesston Larks in overtime, 74-71.
With the loss, the Comets are now 3-1 on the season.
The Comets were in excellent position to seal the victory, leading 63-61 with 18.4 seconds remaining in the game, but were unable to keep Hesston off the offensive glass, as Larks forward Morgan Coffman corralled J'liyah Tillman's off-target 3-pointer, and went up strong for a layup to tie the game 63-63, with 3 seconds remaining.
Prior to Tillman's missed 3-pointer, Hesston point guard Taelor Drew launched a 3-pointer that was off the mark, but Cottey was unable to track down the rebound.
After the game, Comets head coach Stephanie Beason said that her team needs to get stronger in the rebounding department going forward.
"They have 18 seconds and start attacking at 13 seconds, and then all of the sudden they have three offensive rebounds," Beason said. "We're two seconds away from blocking somebody out and being 4-0 instead of 3-1."
First half
Early in the first half, back-to-back layups by 5-foot-10 forward Linsey Denney put the Comets up 6-2.
With 13:08 remaining in the half, guard Latasha Griggs drove the left baseline and hit a short jumper to put Cottey up 11-9.
Midway through the half, Larks forward Sydni Carter drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing knotting the score 14-14. Cottey quickly responded, as guard Alyssa Jones banked in a short jumper, to put the Comets up 16-14.
A twisting layup from underneath the basket, courtesy of guard Sydney Rose, gave Cottey a 20-16 lead.
With 7:07 to play in the first half, Machela VanGennip's 5-foot banker handed Cottey a 22-18 lead. The backboard continued to be friendly to the Comets, as Jones banked in a long 3-pointer from near the top of the key, extending Cottey's lead to 25-19.
VanGennip's soft jumper with 1:20 to play in the first half, put Cottey on top 33-27.
Second half
The Larks opened up the second half with a flurry, going on a quick 8-0 run to take a 35-33 lead.
"This a pretty good group as far as at least waking up at some point," Beason said. "We do hit the snooze a few too many times every now and then. And take too long of periods off.
"We have to do a better job of not having those moments where we're hitting the snooze button over and over."
The Comets finally ended the Larks run, when Griggs swished a 3-pointer, to put Cottey back on top, 36-35.
On Hesston's next possession, guard Brittany Kramer scored from underneath the basket and was fouled. After knocking down the free throw, the Larks led by two with 17:16 to play in the half.
Rose's short bank shot with 14:01 showing on the clock gave Cottey a 43-40 lead.
After several ties and lead changes, Denney connected on a baseline jumper with the shot clock winding down, as the Comets regained the lead, 50-48.
An errant pass by Jones at half court, led to a Tillman steal and layup, tying the score, 54-54. Cottey earned trips to the free throw line on their next two possessions, as Denney and VanGennip each hit 1-of-2 free throws, to put Cottey back out in front, 56-54.
The Larks reclaimed the lead at 57-56 after Kramer sank 1-of-2 free throws, with 3:44 to play in the second half.
With only 1:53 remaining in regulation, Cottey broke the Larks full court press, as Amalia Harris went in for the easy layup, giving the Comets a 58-57 lead.
With 1:39 remaining, Kramer stepped to the free throw line and calmly nailed two free throws, putting the Larks back in the lead, 59-58.
On the Comets ensuing possession, an out of bounds play led to an easy bucket for Cottey point guard Ciera Wong. With Wong's layup, the Comets led 60-59 with just over a minute left in regulation.
With less than a minute on the clock, Kramer drove hard from the right wing, colliding with Rose, sending both players crashing to the floor. However, Kramer was whistled for the charge.
With 45 seconds to play, Denney was sent to the charity stripe for two, where she hit both. Denney's free throws gave the Comets a 62-59 lead.
With the ball in Kramer's hands, she drove the right baseline, pulled up and stuck a 10-foot jumper, slicing the Comets lead to 62-61 with 27.4 seconds left in regulation.
On the inbound play, the Comets were able to get the ball to Wong, who was quickly fouled. Wong made the first free throw but missed the second, to put Cottey up 63-61.
After Coffman's layup with three seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score 63-63, Cottey turned the ball over at half court on the inbounds play, but Hesston was unable to get a clean look at the basket, before the clock expired.
Overtime
Trailing 64-63 after a Coffman free throw to open overtime, VanGennip's off-target 3-pointer from the left wing was rebounded by Harris, who converted a spectacular reverse layup, putting the Comets up 65-64 with 3:34 left in overtime. Harris was also fouled on the play, but missed the free throw.
With 1:54 still to play in overtime, and the score again tied, a slashing drive down the center of the lane by Tillman resulted in 2 points, allowing the Larks to reclaim the lead, 68-66.
Not panicking, the Comets were able to get the ball to their top offensive weapon, Denney, who's baseline drive and basket tied the score at 68-68, with 1:27 left on the clock.
Unfortunately for the Comets, Hesston reeled off the next four points. The first basket was an 18-foot jump shot by Kramer, and the second came from Drew, who knocked her's down from near the free throw line, staking the Larks to a 72-68 lead.
Hesston increased the lead to 74-68 after Drew hit a pair of free throws. Denney added a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but for Cottey it was too little too late.
After the game, Beason said her biggest area of concern regarding her team is blocking out.
"We talked about it at half time, that we were doing a decent job of blocking out every now and then ---- but we were holding our block out," she said. "And the ball was getting beyond us. And then Hesston players were the only ones there to get it.
"So we talked about blocking out and releasing and going and getting it. But hats off to Hesston. They're a team that works really hard and they don't give up."
Hesston had a distinct size advantage, with eight players on their roster 5-foot-10 or taller, compared to only one for Cottey.
"I've been telling them since day one of season, that 'we're a little team,'" Beason said. "We have a small roster, and we have small height on our roster. So for us to be able to win games, we have to out-rebound our opponent."
Denney led the way for Cottey, dropping in a game-high 19 points.
"Linsey is one of those blessed people, who is so athletic she always causes tough mismatches," Beason said. "They can't put a big solid post player on her, because she will just go around them. So it has to be another athletic post, or a taller guard.
"Linsey did some really good things tonight. I still think she played a little ugly for her capabilities. But for her to have 19 and play ugly, that's a pretty solid performance."
Rose and Griggs added 13 point apiece.
After going 20-for-22 from the charity stripe in their previous game, the Comets missed 12 free throws Friday night, going 22-of-34 from the line.
Next up for Cottey is Neosho County, who they will face at the Fort Scott Community College Classic at 2 p.m., Nov. 21.
"We've got to turn around and play a pretty tough Neosho team next Friday," she said. "So we have to snap out of it pretty quick."