Comets fall at home to Florissant Valley

The Cottey College Comets watched an 11-point lead disappear in the second half as the Fury from St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley rallied to defeat the home team 73-65.

It was a wild game to say the least, as the Comets would build a lead, see the Fury rally, and then build a lead again. In the first half, Cottey jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead and saw Florissant Valley pull within a single point at 17-16 with 7 minutes left. That's about the time Bailey Beale got hot. In just over 2 minutes, Beale hit a field goal, two 3-pointers, and another field goal to put Cottey up by 10 at 29-19 with 2 1/2 minutes to play. A 6-2 run by the Fury allowed them to close the gap to five points at the break, 31-26.

Cottey seemed to be in control early in the second half as well as the Comets scored the first six points to build the lead to 11 at 39-28. Things went downhill in a hurry, though, as the Comets had trouble scoring from the field and Florissant Valley rallied to tie the game at 43 with 9 minutes left.

It had been a physical and occasionally sloppy game, to this point. Every rebound seemed as though it was touched by three or four players before someone could get a handle on it. Suddenly, those boards were ending up in the hands of the Fury. The foul calls began to pile up against the Comets as well in the second half.

Florissant Valley freshman Gwendolyn Williams did the most damage with 29 points, including a 17-for-18 performance at the free throw line. Fellow freshman Chelsea Johnson added 21 points, all in the second half.

Alex Noble and Beale led the Comets with 14 points apiece and Noble collected 10 rebounds. Amanda Sanders was also in double figures with a dozen points of her own.

The loss dropped the Comets to 10-8 on the season. The Comets were scheduled to be in action again on Tuesday, hosting North Central Missouri College at Hinkhouse Gymnasium.