Athens, TN - Senior point guard Liz Martin took control down the stretch as the young Covenant College women's basketball team picked up a huge Appalachian Athletic Conference road win over a deep experienced Tennessee Wesleyan College squad 65-56 on Wednesday night. Martin finished the game, the conference opener for both teams, with 18 points and five assists.

The Lady Scots (4-4, 1-0) played great defense and out-rebounded the Lady Bulldogs on the night, and actually led 56-40 with 4:48 left in the game after freshman guard Ashley Wilson's second straight basket. The Lady Bulldogs (4-3, 0-1) cut into the lead with a Katie Blevins 3-point field goal, followed by 12 made free throws, by three different players, in the closing minutes.

In addition to Martin, Covenant got 15 points and seven rebounds from Wilson, the talented freshman guard from Lakeland, Florida, and 14 points and nine rebounds from junior guard Jessica Gowan. Junior forward Erika Forland played great defense in the paint for the Lady Scots and nailed three free throws in the last minute to help cement Covenant's win. Sophomore forward DeDe Walls once again provided great defense and rebounding, coming off the bench to pull down eight boards in eighteen minutes of play. Ashton Burrell hit three treys for the Lady Bulldogs to finish with a team high 12 points, and Leah Frazier added 10.

"I'm very proud of my team tonight, it is so difficult to win on the road in our conference, and for us to be so young, and yet to pull out this win, helped us grow up a little bit," said Lady Scot head coach Roy Heintz. "Having a great player like Liz Martin makes my job a bit easier, but Jess Gowan, Erika Forland, Ashley Wilson and Kayla Sanders really stepped up, down the stretch, to get the victory."

Covenant College stays in the AAC when they host a Saturday afternoon match-up against King College at 4:00.