Long-range shooting ignites Comets to victory over Fort Scott, 78-68
FORT SCOTT, Kan. — A three-point barrage propelled the Cottey Comets to their first victory of the season Saturday evening, a 78-68 triumph over Fort Scott Community College at the Gladbach Classic.
With just six available players, the beleaguered Comets entered the contest at Arnold Arena having absorbed a trio of lopsided losses to open the season. Despite the convincing victory, the Comets finished the game with just four players on the court due to heavy foul trouble.
At least on this night Cottey left little doubt who was the better team, shooting a sparkling 45 percent (10-of-22) from beyond the arc, while point guard Katrina Cantu and forward Malory Moles combined for 43 points on a blistering 15-of-27 from the field.
Cottey also capitalized on their ability to crash the glass. After being badly outrebounded by Labette in Friday’s Gladbach Classic opener, the Comets turned the tables, corralling 41 rebounds to Fort Scott’s 39. The concerted effort on the boards was spearheaded by Moles and forward Karlie Acton, who combined for 27 of the 41 rebounds.
“Malory and Karlie did a great job blocking out and maintaining contact to clean up the glass inside,” noted Comets head coach Stephanie Beason.
The opening frame featured several ties and lead changes, with a Cantu three from the top of the key handing the Comets a 12-10 advantage. Cottey then closed out the quarter with a flurry as Cantu slashed to the basket, breaking out a euro-step en route to the lay-in and a trip to the charity stripe as the Comets led 15-11 after the first quarter.
Midway through the second Cottey increased the lead to 23-17 via back-to-back mid-range jumpers from Kim Robles and Cantu. Fort Scott point guard, and Uniontown, Kansas native, Shalina Harper trimmed the Comets lead to three after connecting from long-range.
The Comets quickly struck back as Cantu banked in a 3-pointer, followed by a Moles steal and breakaway lay-in as Cottey seized the largest lead of the night, 28-20. Led by Harper, the Hounds closed out the half on an 11-2 run to go back on top, 31-30.
Beason said she was thrilled with her team’s energy in the first half, as the guard-heavy Comets outrebounded Fort Scott 21-20. The 21 rebounds were more than Cottey’s total output a day prior against Labette, when they tallied just 19. Cantu led all scorers at the half with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-2 from 3-point land. Cantu, however, was in major foul trouble, picking up her third with 27 seconds remaining in the half. In addition to Cantu, both Acton and Moles had three fouls apiece.
Cantu’s foul situation went from bad to worse after the lightning quick guard from Bakersfield, California, was tagged with her fourth personal foul just one second into the third quarter.
Despite that early set-back, Cottey opened the second half on fire. A pair of Alex Alvarez free throws put the Comets on top 32-31. Moles then connected from the deep left wing as Cottey led 35-31.
At the 7:45 mark Acton came flying in from the perimeter, banging bodies with two Fort Scott players to come up with an offensive rebound. She then kicked the ball out to Alvarez, who swished a three from the top of the key, extending the Comets lead to 38-31.
The Comets 10-0 blitz to open the half was capped by an Acton drive and lay-in, as Cottey went up 40-31. Visibly upset with his squad’s play, Fort Scott head coach Jeff Tadtman signaled for a timeout. Tadtman’s tactical move temporarily doused the streaking Comets momentum, and an 8-2 Fort Scott run sliced Cottey’s cushion to 42-39 with 3:55 remaining in the third.
San Antonio native Destiney Teniente began to take over for Cottey, scoring on a baseline drive, and two possessions later burying a triple from the left corner, for a 47-39 Cottey lead. The 3-pointers continued to rain down in Arnold Arena as fellow San Antonian Robles stuck one from the left wing to put Cottey up 52-44 late in the third.
Teniente, then drilled a 3-pointer from the deep right wing as time expired in the third. The Comets wasted little time breaking the game open in the final frame, as a 10-4 run, culminating with a Moles pull-up jumper at the 4:47 mark, put Cottey up 68-55.
“Malory started her night missing her first three or four shots,” said Beason. “She did a great job keeping her composure and focus, and fought back to have a great game.”
Fortunately for Cottey Cantu’s fifth foul came with 7.7 seconds remaining in the game.
“As the primary ball-handler, Katrina was given the task to make sure we were in control of the tempo of the game,” said Beason. “As a freshman in her fourth collegiate game, I couldn’t be more happy with her composure throughout the game, and the job she did with keeping the game at our pace.”
Had Cantu picked up her fifth foul earlier in the second half it could have easily derailed Cottey’s hopes of securing its first victory.
“I kept my hands straight up, and tried not to reach down because that’s what they were calling,” Cantu told the Daily Mail. “We made some rotations and switched up our defense.
“We got the win, we did it.”
Cantu, who tallied just six points against Labette, said she was looking to be more aggressive offensively, while also getting her teammates more involved.
“I’ve always considered myself a true point guard,” she said. “With that being said, I control the pace of the game, but also do what I need to do to get my teammates open. And if that means driving and kicking, that’s what I do.”
Added Cantu: “(Fort Scott’s) defense wasn’t picking me up, so I would just take it all the way to the basket.”
Acton, who finished with a game-high 14 rebounds before fouling out, said the Comets were “super-focused” during pre-game warm-ups.
“We knew this was our game,” said Acton. “Everybody was focused and ready to go. We worked our butts off and finished the game with four freaking players. It’s a good feeling to get our first victory.”
Said Beason: “I’m really proud of our team effort tonight. We knew going into the game that Fort Scott was going to get up and pressure us in the full-court. We also knew that if we stayed cool, calm, and collected, and just got to our spots, that we would be able to handle it. Our entire rotation did a great job of doing that throughout the game.”
Teniente, who poured in 16 points against Labette, chipped in 17 against Fort Scott on 7-of-14 shooting, while Alvarez finished with 11 points — including 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, with the Comets finishing 12-of-15 as a team from the free throw line. Beason added that she was pleased with Robles’ all-around effort, as the sophomore guard finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.
“She’s starting to find her rhythm,” said Beason.
The Comets were also sound defensively, holding the Hounds to 35 percent shooting (24-of-68) and a frigid 21 percent from beyond the arc (5-of-23).
Home opener
The Comets returned to the court Monday night, kicking off their 2017-18 home slate with their second match-up of the season against NJCAA No. 20 ranked North Arkansas College. In the teams first meeting on Nov. 11 in Harrison, Ark., Cottey fell 96-55.
Monday’s contest was much tighter, with the Comets leading 18-13 after one quarter, and 40-34 at halftime. The Comets then held a slim 52-49 advantage entering the fourth before North Arkansas outscored Cottey 23-17 in the final frame to emerge with a 72-69 victory.
The Comets scoring was evenly dispersed as Moles finished with a game-high 18 points on a robust 75 percent shooting from the floor; Teniete and Alvarez 12 apiece; Robles, 10; Acton, 9; and Cantu, 9. See Wednesday’s edition for quotes for more on Wednesday’s game.
Up next
Cottey (1-4) returns to the court Tuesday, Nov. 28, when the Comets host St. Mary’s JV. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. at Hinkhouse Center.