At a glance, the Comets appear to be burning out.
The side recently went from first to third place in the girls division of the Appleby Under-19 Basketball League. After starting out unbeaten, the Comets have dropped two of their last three matches to sport a 4-2 mark.
The latest defeat came last Saturday at the Cayman Islands Basketball Association court. Star guard Felecia Connor, 16, states the slide is due to issues with training.
“We played good on Saturday, just not with our hearts out,” Connor said. “The defence was good but I didn’t finish and we as a team didn’t finish (on offence). We got to work on that. We also got to get our rebounding and post-up game working, period.
“The only thing lacking is the practice. It’s hard for us because of the facilities. Truman (Bodden Sports Complex netball courts) is unavailable and the (corporate) league is here during the week. We’re thinking of going to Red Bay (primary school).”
Saturday’s match saw the Comets lose to the Sparks 54-37. The bright spots for the Comets were Most Valuable Player candidate Chloe Powery (24 points, 16 rebounds) and Shana Linwood-McLaughlin (six points, seven steals). Connor was OK (seven points, five rebounds).
Connor, a George Town native, has been a mainstay on the team for four years. She feels the 2011 squad, under head coach Kadane Hall, has good talent.
“This is my fourth season with the Comets. This team is really good and we have some strong players.”
While the Comets have fallen off, the Sparks are going in the other direction. After a shaky start, the purple side has leaped up to first place (with a 4-2 mark). A big reason for the turnaround is the continued dominance of La-Torae Nixon, 14.
On Saturday Nixon had another stellar double-double performance with 36 points and 26 rebounds while being a presence on the defensive end with four blocks and four steals. She got major help from Taylor Reid’s double-double (14 points, 13 rebounds). Nixon stated the victory was about a winning mentality.
“The game was excellent and we had the mind to win,” Nixon said. “They were strong but I was on my game and we had the mind-set that we could do it.”
Both squads are in action again this Saturday, 12 November. The Comets face the 0-6 Lynx at 5pm while the Sparks tackle the 4-2 Monarchs at 6.30pm.
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