Simon Shines As Titans Tackle Comets 55-42

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Todays game between the Comets of Amherst and the Titans of Berea-Midpark gave everyone a sneak peak at two of the most potential laden teams you will find in the SWC for years to come.  The Titans won 55-42, and it was the Sophomores of Berea-Midpark and the Freshmen of Amherst stealing the show.

We all know about the talent of Titan Lauren Yee, but today we saw what fellow Sophomores Courtney Simon and Talyssa Moody can do as well.  Simon led all scorers with 21 points, all coming in the final three quarters.  Simon drained 5 from behind the three-point line as well.  Moody was not to be left out as she cashed in with 10 total points.

With Yee, Simon and Moody, this team can become very dangerous.  Mix in the leadership of Junior Jenna Bycznski who had 8, and Lyndsey Seballos who had 5 and they are stout.  I didn’t even mention defensive stopper Athena Sevastos who was out today.

Speaking of young talent making a team dangerous, the Amherst Comets are not far off.  I’ll say it again, throw their record out the window.  Once again, all six of their freshmen scored today with Kayla Ferency with 10, while fellow freshmen Kristen Kelley had 9 and Natalie Pleban had 11.  Ava Darmos along with Peyton Roberts had 2 each while Braden Silvasy had 2 as well.

It was a class move by both head coaches to allow Amherst Senior Nora Wright to score the first basket of the game.  Her season had been lost to a knee injury, and she won’t return to full speed for awhile.  With that being the case, she started and got the first basket of the game as the Titans backed off and let her score.

In another act of sportsmanship, the Comets allowed the Titans to have the next open shot, which was supposed to be a two pointer, but as Murphy’s Law would have it, ended up being an accidental three that Taylssa Moody drained. Coach Brittney McNamara showed her maturity and class by having the extra point taken off the board and the scored pushed back to 2 apiece so competitive play could then start.

Lindsay Seballos had a huge night earlier this week with 19 points and 5 three pointers at home against Brunswick.  Tonight, she started a bit slow missing her first several attempts before nailing a three ball to push the Titan lead out to 7-2 with 4:17 left in the first.

The star of the first quarter was Moody however, she looked brilliant as she chased down loose balls, stayed active on offense when she didn’t have the ball, and created offense by playing solid defense.  It led to a big 8-point quarter for Moody, and gave the Titans a 15-9 lead after one.

Speaking of the young and exciting talent from Berea-Midpark, it was Sophomore Courtney Simon starting the second quarter with 7 straight points. This increased the Titan lead to 22 – 9 before an Alexis Alflen beautiful inside move stopped the Titan run for the Comets. Simon wasn’t done yet and would sink another three pointer before the quarter closed out with a Titan 32-13 lead.

Simon would finish the half with 10 points, all coming in the second quarter.  Moody would finish the half with 10 as well. A strong Titan defense held the Comets to only 4 points in the second quarter.

Simon started the second half picking up where she left off in the first.  Simon buried two three pointers in the first 6 plus minutes of the half, helping the Titans increase their lead to 42-15, a 10-2 run to put the game well out of reach.

The Titans led 44-17 with 1:35 to go in the third, when the Comets began to play their best basketball of the season.  After a 14 day layoff, it would have been easy for them to run out of legs down big, but instead they put together an incredible 10-0 run that took less than 58 seconds and cut the lead to 44-27.

That was incredible as it was turnover, bucket, turnover bucket, just one after another.  A flash of brilliance for the Comets.  All 10 points coming from their freshman, including 5 from Kristen Kelley. The Comets actually won the quarter 14-12 thanks to the last second blitzkrieg of points.

The Comets came into the fourth quarter like a house on fire, a bull in a China shop, or whatever other cliché you choose to use.  They were playing motivated and it showed, outscoring the Titans 6-2 and cutting the lead to 46-13.  All in all, it was a 16-2 run by the Comets between both quarters.

The Titans got things back on track by doing what they seem to do better than anyone else, and that is going down low to their center Jenna Bycznski.  They fed Jenna the ball in the post, and she made the Comets pay with four straight points, once again putting the game out of reach, this time for good. Another Courtney Simon 3 was sunk for good measure right after the Bycznski barrage.

Now down 53-33 it still didn’t stop the Comets from playing hard and going full tilt.  They then rattled off 7 straight points, including 5 from Natalie Pleban to cut it back down to 53-40.  It was to little too late however as the Titans hung on to win 55-42.