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Countless hustle plays and overall scrappiness by Alyssa McLellon combined with the slashing and driving ability of Abby Liber was simply too much for the Comets to overcome as the Avon Eagles won 58-44 this morning on the road in Amherst.
Liber led all scorers with 20 points as she continues to make the most of every shot she takes. McLellon had 10, along with points in every quarter. When those two are running full speed, the Eagles are almost impossible to take down. It is the hustle and work ethic of the Eagles that could help them soar.
The Eagles have a deep roster and it showed again this morning as 9 Eagles scored. Ryan Clapham had 4, Brooke Laub had 7, Natalie Santoro had 2, Molly Drenik had 2, Alyssa Peganoff had 6, Catie Geiger had 6 along with some very nice assists. Kiley Williams finished up the scoring with 1 along with several rebounds.
The Comets will once again have plenty to build off of. All 6-freshman scored, including a team high 18 from Kristen Kelly. Natalie Pleban got red hot in the second, and finished with 9 points. Ava Darmos cashed in 4 more while Kayla Ferancy had 7. Bradyn Silvasy and Peyton Roberts had 2 each. Jules Gedling finished off the scoring with 2.
Both teams struggled to score in the early minutes of the game as the first bucket didn’t come until the 2-minute mark when Alyssa McLellon hit a running jumper inside the key. After a Kristen Kelly bucket made it 2-2 shortly after, both teams stayed cold until Avon went on a run.
Avon did a great job converting turnovers into full court points. They did via a strong press and hustle plays. On one such play, Alyssa McLellon did an amazing job blocking a shot, saving the ball from going out of bounds and then passing it behind her back to start a fast break that Abby Liber cashed in on. McLellon is a workhouse that knows how to make things happen.
By the time the run was done, it was 12-2 as Avon had jumped out to a commanding double-digit lead. As usual, the Comets showed no fear and no retreat and eventually struck back when Kristen Kelley nailed a three pointer at the 2:16 mark of the first quarter to stop the bleeding.
The Avon defense was just nasty and smothering in that opening quarter. They wouldn’t allow any open or clean shots for Amherst. By the time it was done, Avon led 18-7 after 1. Kristen Kelley had all 7 for the Comets while the Eagles were paced with 8 from Liber.
It was the Eagles coming out cold in the second quarter, as a bucket by McLellon was all they could produce throughout the first 3 and a half minutes. Meanwhile 4 from Kayla Ferancy and 2 more by Kelley cut into the Eagles lead at 20-13 before a Brooke Laub 3 pointer would stop the mini-Comet run.
Natalie Pleban would answer the three ball with one of her own and cut the lead back down to 23-16. The Comets know how to hang around, especially when they get hot. A little bit later on, another three ball by Pleban would make it 25-19 with 2:14 to play in the quarter.
The sharp shooting Pleban wasn’t done yet however, with 1:44 left in the quarter, she drained another 3 pointer. Her third in a few minutes made it 25-22 and gave the Comets a serious look at pulling off the upset. You cannot leave Pleban open, or she will make you pay every time. The Eagles would extend the lead to 27-22 at half.
It was McLellon again in the third quarter making things happen all over the court. Her relentless pressure and hustle along with her teammates flying to the ball, created a run for the Eagles to extend their lead.
At one point, it was McLellon again saving a ball from going out of bounds and finding a slashing Abby Liber to pass it too for the quick bucket. When coach Jay Valadez called a timeout to settle down his Comets, the Eagles had built a 37-24 lead with 4:44 to go in the quarter.
The Eagles were not done yet and just kept running on all cylinders. They would continue to pour it on and build their lead to a commanding 41-24 mark with 3:30 to go in the frame. It was an absolute dominant third quarter that saw 7 different Eagles score. By the end of the 8-minute blitz, the Eagles led 49-30 as they had outscored the Comets 22-7 in the quarter.
The Eagles would go on to win handily 58-44. But the Comets went 8 of 11 from the line in the fourth quarter. Think about that for a second, if they go 8 of 11 in the fourth quarter of a close game, they win. It’s the little things, don’t forget about those.
Those are the little things this team needs to take away from every game, win or lose. Kelley was 5 of 7 from the line in the quarter while Robert went 2 of 2 and Ferancy went 1 of 2.
