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Comets falter late, fall to MCC-Penn Valley
Nevada Daily Mail
After dropping their previous game by a single point, the Cottey Comets endured a second straight gut-wrenching loss, losing a late four-point lead as they fell to the MCC-Penn Valley Scouts 69-61 at Hinkhouse Center Thursday night.
A victory in Thursday's contest could have clinched Cottey a No. 3 seed in the upcoming Region 16 playoffs. The third-seed for Cottey (10-10) now appears unlikely, according to head coach Stephanie Beason.
Trailing 37-27 at halftime, the Comets opened the half on a 25-13 run, regaining the lead as they went ahead 52-50. However, Cottey was unable to contain Scouts combo guard Lexus Bradley, who exploded for 32 points.
Beason said excellent team-play sparked the second-half rally.
"I think we did the same thing that we did the first eight minutes of the game," Beason said. "We started working together as a team a little bit more again and making an extra pass, and just hitting the wide open person."
First half
Cottey point guard Ciera Wong put the first points of the night on the board, knocking down a mid-range jumper from the left-side. Forward Linsey Denney put Cottey up 4-0, after hitting a mid-range jumper from the right-side, with 18:37 to play in the first half.
The Comets increased their lead to 6-0 with a Wong lay-in. The Scouts responded by scoring 11 of the next 13 points, Bradley buried back-to-back triples, handing the Scouts an 11-8 lead at the 15:22 mark of the first half.
With 14:07 on the clock, forward Machela VanGennip hit a short jumper, slicing the Scouts lead to one at 13-12.
Leading 21-19 with 8:32 left in the first half, Bradley struck again, swishing her third trey of the half, extending the Scouts lead to five. Penn-Valley followed up with another 3-pointer, this time from Doniesha Womack, putting the Scouts in front 27-19.
Over the next two minutes, Cottey went on a 6-0 run, capped by a Denny layup, with the assist credited to VanGennip. However, the Scouts ended the half on a 10-2 blitz, to seize a 37-27 halftime lead.
Denney led the way for Cottey in the first half, dropping in 13 points while hitting 3 of 4 free throws.
Second half
Both teams struggled to find their shooting touch early in the second half, as the first points came with 16:40 left, when Denney backed down her defender, bulldozing her way to a bucket, making the score 37-29.
Again trailing by double-digits at 39-29, Cottey reeled off five quick points, bringing the score to 39-34 courtesy of an Alyssa Jones triple from the left baseline.
The speedy Bradley replied with a traditional three-point play, increasing the Scouts lead to 42-34 with 13:24 remaining in regulation. Bradley followed that up with a long jumper from the left wing, handing MCC-Penn Valley a 44-34 advantage.
After a Cottey bucket, Bradley continued her red-hot shooting, drilling a straight-away 3-pointer, as the Scouts lead swelled to 47-36 with 11:57 to play.
The Comets answered with an 8-0 spurt, thanks in part to a baseline rainbow trey from Jones, and power move from Denney on the right block, cutting the deficit to 47-44 midway through the second half.
Scouts guard Ashley O'Neal stopped the bleeding, hitting a 3-pointer from the left wing, to give MCC-Penn Valley a 50-44 cushion with 9:40 left on the clock.
Cottey guard Latasha Griggs scored on a back-door cut, as center Emily Allen hit her in stride for the layup, shrinking the Scouts lead to 50-48.
The Comets run continued when VanGennip slashed in from the perimeter for a layup, knotting the score at 50-50 with 7:27 left. VanGennip contnued to pick up the offensive slack, this time driving the ball in from half court for the bucket, and a 52-50 Comets lead, with 6:48 remaining.
"There were spurts where we played really bad offensively, and then there were spurts we played really good offensively," Beason said. "So I think consistency is key at this point."
Driving in from the left wing all the way to the rim, Bradley tied the game 52-52 with a soft lay-in.
An Allen close-range bank shot, followed by two Denney free throws, handed the Comets a 56-52 lead with 5:29 on the clock.
On the Scouts next possession, needing a basket, Bradley pulled up at the left wing and buried another trey, trimming the Comets lead to 56-55.
A turnover by Cottey led to a Scouts layup, as they went up 57-56. With 4:32 to go, a short jumper went down for Denney, as the Comets went on top 58-57.
Over the next two minutes, Penn Valley took control, reeling of five straight points, capped by a Bradley drive and layup, putting the Scouts up 62-58.
With 2:24 remaining, a pair of Denney free throws shaved the lead to 62-60.
Critical offensive rebounds helped the Scouts end the game on a 7-1 run.
For Cottey, Denney finished with 25 points, while hitting 7 of 10 free throws.
VanGennip added eight, while Jones, Allen, Griggs, and Sydney Rose chipped in with six apiece. Wong rounded out the Cottey scoring with four.