They won their clash with Titans by a surprisingly convincing 61-40 margin, beating their main Women’s Division rivals for a third successive time this season – with only one meeting remaining.
Praxis Pumas had seemingly thrown a spanner in the leaders’ title push by handing them their first defeat of the season the week prior, but these were a different Comets, untouchable for much of the match at Beau Sejour.
It was not for a lack of trying from Titans, who hustled relentlessly to turn over balls in the opening minutes, helping them lead 5-2.
Yet that lead did not last long. Comets used their speed and strength to drive past their rivals’ tough defence and convert cleanly, while Titans struggled to make their shots drop.
After quarter one, the reds led 12-8.
But youngster Immi Collis then hit a real purple patch and put in a 10-point quarter, whether running past defenders or firing with impressive precision.
Emma Hicks suffering a game-ending rolled ankle early into quarter two – together with calf injury to Gemma Batiste – compounded the sense that it just was not Titans’ day.
Comets led 31-18 at half-time and so could stomach a mini-comeback from Titans, hitting the final quarter with a lead of 12 points.
Emma Sykes had found her three-point scoring range, while Katie Margetts impressed on both defence and offence, during a quarter they edged 16-15.
Erin Ogier led Comets’ scoring in this well-contested scoring with some excellent drives.
In the final quarter, Comets stepped it up again, shrugging off anything Titans could throw at them and using their height to rack up both offensive and defensive rebounds. They restricted their opponents to just six points.
Ogier ended the match on a game-high 21 points from Collis’ 14, both topping the experienced likes of Emilie Batiste (nine) and Ieva Babina (eight).
Margetts top-scored for Titans on 14 points ahead of Sykes’ nine and two ‘threes’.
Comets coach Lucas Ozanne admitted that nerves had been high going in with just six players.
‘We didn’t have as many as we normally have, so we were a bit nervous,’ he said.
‘The times we’ve struggled against them, we’ve not been working with each other to get free, but today we’ve been actually making the effort to get some space and move the ball.’
He credited Collis for having a great game and Ogier for her unstoppable drives.
‘Main thing was just effort, though – on defence especially. We were just getting rebounds and stopping them doing about it, and pushing the pace a little bit.’
Speaking of the previous week’s loss, Ozanne felt they had suffered for missing shots they would normally make.
But the match also highlighted the importance of ‘moving for each other’.
‘The other one was getting bogged down and sticking to our spots as opposed to them making that little effort to get free so we could create something for each other,’ he added.
‘That was what we basically worked on, and then just the driving and finishing through contact we were a little bit better at today.’
The coach was full of praise for Comets as a whole and, since taking them over initially, has been focused on building them up as players and growing them into individual roles.
‘They’re doing really well. When I started with them they were a middle-of-the-table team, and it’s just been giving them a strength, almost.
‘It’s building up their confidence and giving them something to be comfortable in.’
