After opening with a convincing win over Vienna last Monday, the Lady Comets lost to Jamestown on Tuesday, 32-35.

“We had opportunities, we just didn’t cash in,” said Coach John Fick, as the team shot 18% from the field overall. “It’s not that we weren’t getting good looks; we couldn’t get any to fall. Jamestown did a great job of only limiting us to one shot each possession. We have a few girls that are scrappy and go get rebounds for us, which lead to extra possessions; but not in that game.”

Fatima led 8-4 after the first quarter, but saw a reversal of fortune in the second quarter. Trailing 13-10 at the break, the Lady Comets battled but saw the lead expand to six by the fourth. Fatima won the final frame, but couldn’t wipe out the gap completely.

Anne Boyce (trey, 5-6 FT) and Adalyn Berhorst (trey) led the team with eight and seven points, respectively, as Alex Berhorst put in six (2-4 FT), Jane Boyce and Natalie Wilbers scored three apiece, Casey Kleffner posted two, and Anna Struemph finished with one.

On the glass, Wilbers snatched a team-high seven rebounds and A. Boyce had six, followed by Kleffner and Alex Berhorst (4 each), and J. Boyce and Adalyn Berhorst (3 apiece).

Defensively, Fatima was very disruptive, as Alex Berhorst counted 12 deflections and three steals, A. Boyce had eight deflections and five steals, and Wilbers posted seven deflections and four steals. Kleffner had the team’s lone block.

“I think our defense was pretty sound overall,” said Fick. “We only allowed 35 points, and a third of them were from the free-throw line. So, I was pretty impressed with the defense, but we’re fouling too much. It’s early in the season; we’ll get that corrected once we get in a flow.”

Last Monday, Fatima defeated Vienna, 62-49.

“I was pretty happy with the unselfishness of the girls, spreading the ball around and getting everyone involved,” said Fick. “We had 9 different girls score on the night. The girls were definitely looking forward to the season opener. They were all juiced up and ready to play, which might explain why we had 21 team fouls on the night. I like the fact the girls play physical, but we need to play smart about it.”

The biggest difference was the 17-7 second quarter, which gave the Lady Comets a 33-17 halftime lead.

Anne Boyce nailed a pair of three-pointers and led with 14 points, while Kleffner scored 13 with three treys, followed by Alex Berhorst (8), Wilbers (7), Rylie Wieberg and Kacey Brune (6 each), Adalyn Berhorst (5, with a trey), Anna Struemph (2), and Addison Bower (1).

Wieberg, J. Boyce, and Alex Berhorst posted six rebounds apiece to lead the team.

Defensively, J. Boyce had a team-high three steals.