Coyotes hold off Comets comeback
By Suzanne Werre
Editor
Putting the ball through the hoop proved to be a difficult task this past week – somewhat for the Comets, but more-so for their opponents, points were tough to come by for both Wilton-Wing and Underwood Friday night, and even harder for the Max Cossacks last Tuesday. Underwood split those district games, pummeling Max by the score of 41-11 Tuesday in Underwood before battling to a 26-23 loss to the Miners Friday at Wilton, as both teams struggled to score.
The Comet girls finished up the week’s action at Grant County, where they wiped out a nine-point deficit in the third quarter to tie the game before the Coyotes regained control, rolling to a 57-49 win.
Free throws were huge for the Coyotes, noted Underwood Head Coach Gary Ballard, as they knocked down 17 of 24 free throws as the Comets started to foul late in the game in the hopes of getting a rebound off of a missed free shot.
“We had to foul, or they were going to use up the shot clock on every possession,” said Ballard. So the Comets fouled – and the Coyotes answered.
“We had positioned ourselves as well as we could have,” said Ballard regarding the Comets’ third-quarter play. The Comets were trailing by nine at the half-time break, 30-21, but erased that deficit, tying the game at 36. The Coyotes knocked down a three-pointer and cashed in on a couple free throws to close out the quarter, regaining a five-point lead at the break.
Grant County was able to keep the momentum, taking the win on the wings of 25 points from Isabelle Boyer and 19 from Molly Wetzel. Taysha Snyder led Underwood with 24 points, while Milah Kibbel was good for eight.
