LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- Coming into this season, the preseason favorites for the Great South Athletic Conference title were Piedmont College and Maryville College. Two months into the season, both teams are still undefeated in conference play, and Covenant had the pleasure of facing both teams in a matter of 72 hours. After the loss to Piedmont on Tuesday, the host Lady Scots were prepared to give Maryville all they could handle when they came to Lookout Mountain Thursday night. The two teams played November 20 at Maryville, and it was clear who the better team was that day as Maryville ran away with the win. But the young Lady Scots have continued to grow as a team and improved game by game.
It did not look good for the Lady Scots early as freshman Jessie Blankenship picked up two fouls inside the first three minutes. Maryville found its true advantage, getting points in the paint with the absence of Blankenship in the middle of the Covenant defense. At the ten minute mark, the score was in favor of Maryville 22-9, and it seemed that it was going to be another lopsided win for Maryville, but the Lady Scots were willing to bend and not break. Covenant's defense was scrambling to cover the anxious shooters of Maryville who were looking for the chance to blow the game wide open. The eager defense was finding success in contesting every shot, but extra pressure resulted in giving up many second chances that Maryville did not miss. Even with the lapses in defensive rebounding, the Lady Scots found themselves only down 20 at half; 37-17. This deficit alone marked a huge improvement from the earlier meeting in November for the Covenant Lady Scots.
Covenant missed the offensive output of Blankenship as she sat for 13 minutes with 2 fouls, but junior Margaret Cross stepped up and led the way with 5 points while every other starter had 2 points of their own. Besides the obvious difference in scoring, the largest difference between the two teams was rebounding in the first half. The host Lady Scots grabbed 12 rebounds in total whereas Maryville had 11 on the offensive side alone, nearly equaling that of Covenant.
The second half was a completely different story. It was like someone had turned on a switch as Covenant came out with a renewed vigor on the defensive end. And for the first time since before Christmas, Cross swished home 3 three-pointers in a series of 8 possessions. This was the offensive spark that the Lady Scots were looking for, and they began to play each possession looking for the right decision. The defense that has been coming up big for Covenant continued its hot streak as it limited Maryville to only 7 points in the first ten minutes of the second half. The Lady Scots battled and at one point got the lead down to 10 points, but it did not get any closer as Maryville found the focus needed and finished the game on a 10-4 run to seal the 58-42 win.
But this win was not one that Maryville found their way to easily; Covenant's defense limited them to only 34% shooting in the second half, and for the second game in a row, the Lady Scots did not allow a made 3 pointer in the second half.
"I felt that our defense again was phenomenal," remarked coach Corey Mullins after the game. "I am really proud of the way our team adjusted in the second half. Maryville attacked our zone in the first half through the short corner. At half, we were able to adjust our rotation which caused them some frustration at the start of the second half."
More impressively, the smothering defense caused 15 turnovers from the veteran Maryville squad. 58 points for Maryville is their second lowest points scored in a game and lowest in the past 13 games.
"Even though we didn't shoot the ball well as a team," continued Mullins, "I think it is important for us to build off of the fact that we outscored the best team in our league in the second half. As a team, we know that we have a smaller capacity for scoring points than the top teams in the conference. If we can continue to be efficient offensively and continue to defend as we have the past seven games, we will again find ourselves in positions to win ball games. I was very pleased with shooting 70% from the free throw line for the first time this season.
"Margaret Cross stepped up big in the second half. To have her shoot the ball with confidence again was fun to watch. Emily Dupree and Jessica Chittenden came off the bench to contribute both offensively and defensively."
With the loss, the Lady Scots move to 1-10 but with 14 games still remaining on the regular season schedule. The first of these will take place Saturday when Rust College travels from Holly Springs, Mississippi to face the Lady Scots at 2:00pm. The men will follow at 4:00pm.
