LAGRANGE, Ga. -- December began with the Lady Scots hitting the road as they traveled to take on LaGrange College. Last year, the two teams met for the first time and LaGrange had the upper hand as they prevailed 76-62. The Lady Scots were not ready to see the same result this year as they are still fighting for their first win of the season, but games quickly following Thanksgiving break are never easy.
The night did not start well for the Lady Scots as they did not win the tip, giving LaGrange the first offensive possession. Last year's freshman of the year and last week's player of the week for the GSAC, Katie Covington, did not take long to put up her first shot of the game. It did not go in, but LaGrange grabbed two offensive rebounds and finally hit a three pointer on their third straight shot. It was clear that LaGrange was going to pursue and scrap for every offensive rebound.
Even with the made three, the Lady Scots did not back down and scored a lay-up by junior Margaret Cross on their first time down the floor. The Lady Scots only scored once more, a turn-around jumper from freshman Jessie Blankenship, giving LaGrange a 14-4 lead with under thirteen minutes left to play in the first half. Needing a spark, junior Christine Core jammed the outlet pass and ripped the ball out of the hands of the LaGrange point guard Elizabeth Williams and scored an uncontested lay-up, proving that the Lady Scots were fighting.
For the rest of the first half, the Lady Scots woke up and started playing. Stellar shooting from Margaret Cross led the Lady Scot as they outscored LaGrange 28-19 in the remaining minutes of the first half. Though it may not have been a pretty half, the Lady Scots found a way to battle back from an early deficit, and as halftime came, it saw the Lady Scots up 34-33. This marks the second time the Lady Scots have taken a lead into halftime this season.
Cross led the Lady Scots with 16 points off 6 of 11 shooting as she hit 4 three pointers in the first half. Blankenship knocked down 3 jumpers, giving her 6 points in the half, and Core hit an in-rhythm three pointer to go along with her break away lay-up, giving her 5 points. The Lady Scots were lead in rebounding by Core with 4, while sophomore Kiaira Cooper and junior Hannah Craft each had 3. Freshman Brittany Harvey handed out 3 assists, leading the Lady Scots in the first half. Collectively, Covenant shot really well from behind the three point line, hitting 6 of 11, an amazing 54.5%.
The second half started with a clear defensive change from LaGrange as they began to recognize some of the Lady Scots sets. But even with the added pressure, the Lady Scots stayed strong as the scoreboard read 40-38 in favor of LaGrange with 15:03 left on the clock. The next four minutes were where the game was lost for Covenant. The defensive pressure of LaGrange finally seemed to be a burden for the Lady Scots who did not score in the four minute stretch. LaGrange put up 14 unanswered points, and when the Lady Scots did score again, the score was 56-41. That momentum swing was enough for LaGrange to build the confidence needed to secure the win at home with a final score of 81-54.
Margaret Cross again found 20 points off of 6 of 13 shooting, including 4 three's and 4 free throws. Cross has scored in double digits every game this year and has hit the 20 point mark or better in her last three games. Jessie Blankenship had 11 points off of 5 of 15 shooting, and she grabbed 4 rebounds. Hannah Craft finished with 8 points as she hit 2 three pointers and her team-leading 6 rebounds.
"After the first few minutes of the first half, I really feel that our team settled down and became comfortable with our defensive game plan to counter LaGrange's dribble drive," commented head coach Corey Mullins. "I was pleased with our ability to recover from an early deficit to take the lead at the half. In the second half, LaGrange turned the heat up on us defensively- looking to switch some screens in our sets and apply more ball pressure on the outside. That led to some costly turnovers which led to easy baskets for them and dug a hole for us halfway through the second half. As a team, we need to learn how to finish. It starts in practice with finishing every possession of every drill and we have to get tougher in that regard."
The Lady Scots next game is at home against Piedmont College on Thursday at 5:30pm.
