Cottey Comets Trounced in Trenton

Herald-Tribune

It started out ugly and got uglier.

The Cottey Comets were manhandled by the fifth-ranked North Central Missouri College Lady Pirates Friday, 94-45.

North Central jumped out to a 43-17 halftime lead, then didn't let up as they used a focused effort to avenge a loss to the Comets in last season's Region 16 playoffs.

The Lady Pirates had five players in double figures, led by Amber Jordan's 22. All 11 North Central players on the roster scored in the game.

Meanwhile Cottey struggled mightily at both ends of the floor in the first half of their first game since Dec. 9.

Nobody on the Comets roster had more than four points at halftime, and only a small run early in the second half gave Cottey anything positive from their experience in Trenton, Mo., Friday night.

Lacy Leonard scored 14 to lead Cottey, including a run of 10 points in eight minutes to start the second half, before North Central went to a box-and-one defense to take her out of the game.

Kerri Shanks also had a little life after halftime, scoring nine of her 12 points on a trio of 3-pointers.

The second half was only slightly better than the first, as North Central still used a bevy of Cottey turnovers and a passive Comet defense to outscored the visitors 51-28 after the break.

"That's one of the best games our team's played in my four years here," North Central head coach James Arnold said after the game. "We were very fortunate to catch them at a good time in our schedule."

The Lady Pirates had already played twice since Christmas, and Cottey had just started practicing again on Tuesday.

North Central Missouri College (15-1) proved to be the class of NJCAA Region 16 Friday, in their regional opener.

Meanwhile the Comets have now lost four consecutive after winning five straight to start the season and are 5-4. Cottey is also 0-2 against region competition.

Cottey was scheduled to play in Trenton again Saturday, when they took on Anne Arundel Community College out of Maryland.