Nevada, Mo. - The Stephens Stars basketball team extended their win streak to seven on Thursday night as they traveled to Nevada, Mo. to play against Cottey College. The Stars remain atop the American Midwest Conference standings.
Chu Crockett led the Stars with 14 points, closely followed by Mia Morel with 9. Marveen Ross narrowly missed a double-double, contributing 8 points and 9 rebounds.
Stephens improved their record to 17-5 (12-1 AMC) with the win, while Cottey fell 13-9 (5-7 AMC).
The offense heated up quickly with a three-pointer from Morel within the opening seconds, setting the tone for Stephens. Despite Cottey's efforts to narrow the gap, the Stars maintained control, with key contributions from Morel, Crockett, Marveen Ross, and Syderah Farmer, building a 12-point lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Comets were able to briefly close the gap (18-10), but Arthel Massaquoi furthered the lead with four points of her own.
Stephens continued to assert their dominance, shooting at 38.1 percent (16-42) from the field, Morel led the charge with eight points.
Regardless of Cottey's 45.8 percent (11-24) shooting, Stephen's smothering defense and ability to run the floor dominated the score. The third quarter was all Stephen's as the Stars nearly doubled the Comets in score. The Stephen's bench erupted at the end of the third as Massaquoi hit a buzzer-beater making the score 53-32 heading into the fourth.
A strong 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter further solidified Stephens' lead, ultimately the Stars sealed the victory at 68-44.
The Stars look ahead to face their next challenge on Saturday, Feb. 10th at William Woods University in Fulton, Mo., at 1 pm.
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