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Comets fall to No. 4 ranked North Arkansas
In its second road contest of the season, the Cottey Comets (2-1) fell to the North Arkansas Lady Pioneers 82-65, Monday night in Harrison, Ark.
The Comets had their hands full, as North Arkansas entered as the No. 4 ranked team in NJCAA Division II women's basketball.
With Cottey trailing 18-6 near the midpoint of the first quarter, Comets head coach Stephanie Beason called a timeout to regroup her squad.
"We were not very focused early on," Beason said. "With a high caliber team like North Arkansas, we cannot afford to take time off and allow their shooters to get hot early in the game, and we did exactly that."
Despite trailing by 21 points at the conclusion of the first quarter, Cottey rebounded to outscore North Arkansas by six points in the second frame, cutting its deficit to 15 at the intermission.
"Once we snapped out of the lull we were in during the first six minutes of the game and started to play our game, we were able to do some really good things and compete," Beason said.
Cottey continued its solid play in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Pioneers by a basket, as they trailed by 13 points entering the fourth quarter.
"Halftime gave us a chance to reiterate our defensive strategy," Beason said. "Early in the game, we didn't do a good job with our defensive rotation. As the game went on and our discipline (improved), we started getting defensive stops and taking advantage of that on the offensive end."
The Comets clawed all the way to within eight points at the 5:30 mark of the fourth quarter. However, that was as close as Cottey would get, as the No. 4 ranked Lady Pioneers pulled away late, outscoring the Comets by nine points during the final five minutes of regulation.
"One of the things we discussed after the game, was that we have to show up and be focused for 40 minutes," Beason said. "We cannot take time off during games, and especially against a team like we played tonight."
Beason continued, "We took about eight and a half minutes off and it really cost us. Although the outcome we got isn't what we were looking for, we did some really positive things (tonight)."
For Cottey, three Comets registered double-figures, as Kelsey Acton and Destiney Teniente led the way with 20 points apiece, while sophomore center Cheyenne Ortiz chipped in with a dozen.
Defensively, the Comets held Lady Pioneer star sophomores Jolene Shipps and Sydnee Garrett to a combined 11 points. The duo entered the contest averaging a combined 42 points per game.
Up next
The Comets return to the court Friday as they are slated to matchup against Connors State College (Okla.) at the Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College Classic. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. The Comets conclude tournament action with a contest against the Fort Scott Lady Greyhounds, Saturday at 4 p.m.
After its Nov. 19 matchup with the Lady Greyhounds, the Comets will remain idle until Nov. 29, when they return home to Hinkhouse Center for a 6 p.m. contest with the vaunted Lady Pioneers.
On Dec. 2, Cottey is scheduled to face Fort Scott for the second time, with this matchup in Nevada.
Check back with the Daily Mail for continued coverage of Cottey Comets basketball