Box Score

JAMESTOWN, ND – The Comets headed to the University of Jamestown to take on the #1 seed on their home court inside Harold Newman Arena on Saturday afternoon for the North Star Final Four in Women's Basketball. It would be the third matchup between to two teams, the Jimmies have been sitting atop the conference standings all season long with a 16-0 record in the NSAA. The Comets started out by keeping pace with the Jimmies, but were unable to keep them within reach.

The first quarter began with the Comets scoring two quick baskets by Andi Gayner and Naomi Torgerson to take a 4-0 advantage, only to see it quickly turn to a 5-4 lead by the Jimmies. The Comets would regain the lead after a Karleigh Weber bucket, but fell victim to a 6-0 run by Jamestown. Joelle Ertl and Andrea Skillingstad were able to bring the Comets within one point then keep it within three by quarter's end, only down 17-14 after the first ten minutes.

Jamestown would start the second quarter on a solid run, building their lead to twelve at 30-18. It caused Coach Hutter to call a time out and try to counter Jamestown's attack, the 13-4 Jimmie run included two of UJ's five 3-pointers in the half. Jamestown would keep on firing away, and the Comets struggles would continue with their shooting from the floor, especially with a 1-10 effort from beyond the arc. Jamestown would extend their lead and go into the break with a 43-27 lead.

The second half began with Jamestown coming out aggressive defensively and hitting shots on the offensive end. For most of the third quarter, the Jimmies had an answer for everything that Mayville State did. When the Comets did get good looks, they just couldn't find the bottom of the net. Both teams hit a scoring drought midway through the third, and Jamestown was just fine with winding down the clock with their 20-point cushion in the second half. The third quarter ended with the Comets trailing, 43-62. 

It was much of the same story in the final quarter of today's semifinal matchup. Jamestown's defense and efficient offense was too much for the Comets this afternoon. Mayville State didn't play their best today, but the Jimmies had a lot to do with it. The Comets just couldn't get things going on the offensive end and eventually fell victim to some quick scoring runs by Jamestown throughout the second half. Mayville State fell to the Jimmies, 80-61, to end the Comets' season. 

Leading all scorers in the game was Andi Gayner, who finished with 20 on the night, Joelle Ertl added 17 and Naomi Torgerson had ten for the Comets. Ertl and Torgerson also led the team in rebounds with seven each. The Jimmies had some balanced scoring with four players in double figures. MacKenzie Sparby and McKayla Orr each had twelve, Marina Nowak had eleven and Allison Jablonsky finished with ten. 

The Comets finished the season at 20-9 overall, with a 10-6 NSAA record and 4th place finish in the conference. It was the seventh consecutive winning season for Coach Hutter and his program.

The Comets will say goodbye to Andi Gayner, Sydney Gangl and Karleigh Weber, who have been an integral part of the Comets' string of successful seasons. Gayner finishes her standout career with four NSAA All-Conference selections and an impressive 1737 points in her career, placing her among the true greats in Comets basketball history. Weber finished her career with 853 points and 169 total 3's, shooting 34.7% from beyond the arc. Nearly 60% of her total career points were three-pointers. Gangl has played the last two seasons for the Comets and scored 85 points in each of her two seasons at Mayville State.