Comets take control from 'Hounds, win first of season

Saturday, November 14, 2009

IOLA, Kan. -- Three days and one player made a difference in Cottey College's rematch with Fort Scott Community College Friday afternoon as the teams met in the Citizens Bank Classic at Allen County Community College.

Valencia Kelly, Fort Scott's leading scorer, did not dress out, apparently still feeling the effects of a head injury she suffered a week ago. Without her, the Greyhounds seemed lost in the last 26 minutes of play while Cottey was able to make adjustments that allowed the Comets to enjoy a victory for the first time this season, 52-45.

It was also the first loss for Fort Scott (3-1), which had been averaging 71 points a game coming into the contest.

It had been a point of emphasis for FSCC head coach Diana Couch this week: What would the Greyhounds do if Kelly were defended well or unable to play? She thought she had an answer after Fort Scott's 74-57 victory at Cottey Tuesday night when the 'Hounds won even though Kelly had a season-low 15 points.

"I thought they did a really great job the first time we played Cottey," Couch said. "(Kelly) only had 15 points, wasn't the leading scorer and we thought we'd be OK going into tonight. They started out really well and looking for each other. And then something, which we're going to try to find on film, changed the whole momentum of the game and we could never recover after that."

Fort Scott was leading 21-11 with 7:36 remaining in the first half. It looked as if things were going well without Kelly. Brittany Demery had 7 points at that point and Kasey Teich had just scored six straight points. Starting post Tashanda Jackson and reserve Joy Hathaway were also controlling the boards, which was a major factor in Tuesday's game.

But at that point, it seemed as if the Greyhounds hit a wall. And Cottey broke through it.

Without Kelly in the lineup, head coach Dave Ketterman decided to use some three-quarter court traps to make things tough on the Greyhounds.

"We were trying to match up on them," Ketterman said. "And we were trying to get some traps in the three-quarter court. (Fort Scott's Shadara) Hampton is awfully hard to trap and I think that caused them a little bit of a problem. But you have to be able to score to trap."

Demery scored the last two baskets of the half for the Greyhounds, but they came nearly six minutes apart. Her basket with 5:55 to go put the 'Hounds up 23-13.

But then Cottey's Bailey Beale, who hit just one 3-point shot in Tuesday's game, stepped up and sank three during an 11-0 run, including the one that put the Comets up 24-23 with 22 seconds to go.

Demery put a basket in with 2 seconds left that put the 'Hounds back in front.

"I thought maybe at the end of the half when we got that shot ... that might give us something coming out," Fort Scott head coach Diana Couch said. "But it seemed like (Cottey's) momentum just built and it snowballed and got worse for us."

Cottey scored the first nine points of the second half, with Beale's fifth triple putting the Comets up 33-25 with 16 minutes to go. The 'Hounds scored two baskets, but Cottey got going again as Amanda Sanders found the hot hand and scored seven straight points to make it 40-29 with 9:17 to go.

"We had Beale hit four 3's in the first half," Ketterman said. "And then we had some kids step up in the second half and just make enough shots."

From 7:36 left in the first half until there was 4:05 left in the game -- a stretch of 23 1/2 minutes -- only 2 of the 14 points scored by Fort Scott came from someone other than Demery.

"One thing we're going to have to work on here with only nine players is having chemistry exist between everyone on the floor and not just one player," Couch said. "It really showed tonight. We need to be able to win games without Valencia. We have to be able to do it with or without her. I want her to be the bonus; not the relied-upon one to win all the games."

Ketterman's assessment was pretty much in agreement.

"(Kelly's) one of those players who can take over a game," he said. "She can hit two or three shots in a row, get them on a run. She did that twice the other night. And that was huge for them. I thought they got down a little bit when they couldn't do that."

Cottey's biggest lead was 50-37 after Lynley Ruble scored her only field goal of the night on a baseline drive with 3:34 remaining.

Beale lead Cottey in scoring with 15 points as she connected on 5 of 10 shots from triple territory. Sanders added 14 points and Alex Noble finished with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds before fouling out. Demery was the only Greyhound to reach double figures as she finished with 19 points. No other FSCC player had more than 6.

The Comets shot 42 percent from the field, making 19 of 45 field-goal attempts. They also made 9 of 11 free-throw attempts. Fort Scott was 18 of 54 from the field for 33 percent, going 7 of 26 in the second half. The Greyhounds made only 2 of 11 three-point shots.

Fort Scott outrebounded Cottey, 35-31. The Comets will take that after being outboarded 44-27 Tuesday night. Sanders and Tessa Porter each had 6 rebounds for Cottey. Jackson finished with 9 while Hathaway had 8 for the 'Hounds.

Beale and Noble each dished 3 assists for Cottey while Hampton dealt 4 for Fort Scott. Hampton also had 4 steals.

The Citizens Bank Classic concludes today at Iola. Fort Scott will play Northern Oklahoma-Enid at 2 p.m. while Cottey takes on host Allen County at 6 p.m. Every Comet game this season has been against a Jayhawk Conference opponent and Saturday's game will continue that trend.

"We've taken an aggressive approach to it," Ketterman says. "We're just trying to get better for (Region XVI) play. I've tried to tell people that while it may not be pretty, just hang on and we'll get better from it."

COTTEY: Bush 0-0 0-0 0, A.White 2-3 2-2 6, Beale 5-12 0-0 15, M.White 0-0 0-0 0, Ruble 1-3 2-2 4, James 0-2 0-0 0, Langston 0-0 0-0 0, Sanders 5-11 4-5 14, Porter 0-4 0-0 0, Lord 1-2 1-2 3, Noble 5-8 0-0 10. TOTALS: 19-45 9-11 52.

FORT SCOTT: Bloodworth 1-5 0-0 2, Teich 2-6 1-1 6, Hampton 1-9 2-2 4, Mattox 2-4 0-0 4, Demery 7-17 4-7 19, Hathaway 3-8 0-0 6, Okoronkwo 1-3 0-0 2, Jackson 1-2 0-0 2. TOTALS: 18-54 7-10 45.

Halftime: Fort Scott, 25-24.

Total fouls: Cottey 15, Fort Scott 13. Fouled out: Noble. Technical fouls: None.

Three-point field goals: Cottey 5-15 (Beale 5-10, Sanders 0-1, James 0-2, Porter 0-2), Fort Scott 2-11 (Demery 1-2, Teich 1-4, Bloodworth 0-2, Hampton 0-3).

Rebounds: Cottey 31 (Noble 10), Fort Scott 35 (Jackson 9). Assists: Cottey 10 (Beale 3, Noble 3), Fort Scott 10 (Hampton 4). Turnovers: Cottey 22, Fort Scott 24. Steals: Cottey 8 (A.White 2, Porter 2), Fort Scott 12 (Hampton 4). Blocked shots: Fort Scott none, Cottey 2 (Noble 2).