Shooting Hoops for Cancer Awareness
By: Marie Schwarz
Managing Editor
The Archers won 75-58 against the Comets of the Cottey College on their game dedicated to cancer awareness on Saturday, Feb. 18. It was their last home game this season. Two more games, and the team claims their regional title and will go to the regional tournament.
The team wore pink socks and wristbands.
The cancer awareness game is very special to Coach Shelly Ethridge.
“It’s a horrible disease and anything that we can do to help find a cure is the goal,” Ethridge said.
This year, nearly $3700 of proceeds will go to St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
The game against the Comets was not one of the Archer’s better games, Ethridge said. Defense and shot selection are areas of improvement, she said. “At this point of the season, I don’t like to see us making the same mistakes that we focus in on every single day in practice, and then we don’t put it to work coming game time.”
However, the team was in the lead in every quarter played.
“The moves were just natural,” Chrishana Wilson, no. 21, said. “We learned some new moves and we did our thing.”
In total, Shamara Glover, no. 33, and Ellisha Davis, no. 3, scored 17 points each, and Wilson, no. 21, made 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Cindy Clausen from Meramec Academic Support came to watch the game. 
“I’m always impressed with Chris’ (Wilson) rebounding,” Clausen said. “I don’t know how long her arms are but she gets back and gets some rebounds that are insane.”
The first quarter ended with the Archer’s in the lead 22-14. However, the opponents started out strong with a 3 and 2 pointer, letting the Archers fall behind 5 points. Once the team followed up with points, they scored 8 points resulting only from fouls. Davis, Shamiah Oliver, no. 12, and Erika Harvey, no. 11, turned both their free throws into points. Erica Waeltermann, no. 4, ended the first quarter with another 3-pointer after Oliver scored five points.
In the second quarter, the Archers widened their lead to 12 points with a score of 36-24.
“Ellisha’s [Davis] ball handling has been fantastic today,” Clausen said during halftime. “They’ve got some big girls on the Comet’s team and we’ve been having some trouble getting around their picks.”
After five minutes of play after halftime, both teams had five fouls each.
“When one person really starts shoving, that makes everybody have to up their level of physicality,” Clausen said. “The ball becomes loose and no one’s holding back. They are all trying to get it and then people get crashed into.”
The third quarter ended with 54-42 for the Archers.
The last quarter was dominated with rough play.
“The game got very physical, got very rough,” Clausen said. “But I think it will be very good for them going into the regional tournament because they’re gonna be facing their strongest opponents in the regional.”
With 12 points in the lead, Glover scored a 3-pointer within the first two minutes and a 2-pointer followed by Wilson.The Comets scored a 3-pointer.
A technical foul happened in the fourth quarter because Cottey’s coach got vocal on one of the referee’s decision.
The game ended with the Archers leading 17 points, 75-58.
Cottey College is a good team and that’s why the Archers had to keep the intensity up in the fourth quarter, Ethridge said after the game.
“They [Comets] never quit,” she said. “If we didn’t continue to play and go at ‘em, they’re certainly a team that can come back real quick.”
