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Comets edged by North Arkansas, 72-69
A pair of sparkling performances have helped to turnaround the Cottey Comet basketball season. After dropping their first three contests the Comets have since performed admirably. Saturday’s 78-68 road victory over Fort Scott was followed by a stellar performance at home Monday against visiting North Arkansas College.
Cottey (1-4) led No. 20 ranked North Arkansas 40-34 at halftime and 52-49 at the conclusion of the third quarter, before the visiting Lady Pioneers outscored the Comets 23-17 in the final frame to secure a 72-69 victory.
Cottey red-shirt sophomore Karlie Acton, buried a game-tying 3-pointer from the left wing with 7.7 remaining in regulation, as the scoreboard read 69-69.
“(North Arkansas) went down the floor and ran a player off a screen, which we got hit on, but were still able to get a decent late hand (in the shooters face), and she nailed the three with .5 seconds left,” recounted Comets head coach Stephanie Beason, of North Arkansas’ final possession.
Beason then called a timeout, advancing the ball past mid-court. On the inbound play, Cottey point guard Katrina Cantu looked to get off the game-tying three.
“The ball was on her fingertips as the buzzer sounded — the shot hit just short, but wouldn’t have counted anyway,” said Beason.
The close shave was a marked improvement on Cottey’s prior performance against the Lady Pioneers, as the Comets fell to North Arkansas Nov. 11 on the road, 96-55. “Even though we came up a little shy tonight, I’m really proud of these six players,” said Beason. “A week and a half ago we lost to them by 41 points. Tonight we came in with the same intensity we had against Fort Scott and did everything we could to outwork our opponent.”
Added Beason: “Ultimately, I think it came down to two statistical categories that we are really going to have to focus on moving forward — the opponents offensive rebounds and our turnovers.”
After finishing with a game-high 22 points Saturday against Fort Scott, Comets’ sophomore forward Malory Moles continued her hot shooting, tallying 18 points on 75 percent from the floor. Cottey sophomore guard Alex Alvarez chipped in 15 points, while freshman point guard Katrina Cantu added 9.
“Katrina did a great job against their full-court press and pressure in the half court,” said Beason of the lightning quick point guard. “Katrina’s percentages from the floor were a little lower than usual tonight, however, she received a lot of pressure from the North Arkansas defense and had to put a lot of work in to beat their press.”
Continued Beason: “Because of this, her shots were a little flat and just not falling. However, Katrina is a worker and a smart player. I have no doubt she will make that adjustment in the future, and in the meantime she is doing a great job as the primary point guard.”
Beason said guard Kim Robles did an excellent job of drawing charges, while Acton continued her solid play down low.” “Karlie continues to do a good job cleaning up the glass, finishing with eight rebounds against a team that was much larger down low,” said Beason.
Up next
The Comets are idle until Tuesday, when they welcome in St. Mary’s (JV) for a 6 p.m. match-up at Hinkhouse Center.