LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- It wasn't a true buzzer-beater, but when LaGrange point guard Elisabeth Williams drove down the right side for a lay-up in the closing seconds against the Lady Scots Tuesday night, it had to have felt like one to everyone involved.  After Covenant battled back in the final minute to tie the game with a Christine Core three-pointer, the game looked as though it was headed for overtime.  But 8 seconds is an eternity for the team leading the nation in scoring.  Despite holding the Lady Panthers to 19 points below their average, Covenant watched as Williams' lay-up glanced off the backboard and through the hoop with 1.3 seconds left.  After that, there was only time for a full-court, desperation heave.

But to paint a bigger picture: With just under three and a half minutes remaining, Kiaira Cooper's jumper to cut the Panther lead to one ended the scoring for over three minutes.  During that time, the teams went a combined 0-7, and it wasn't until Williams made a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left that either team would put points back on the board.  So with the score 64-61, Covenant gained possession with plenty of options of how to proceed.

"We had discussed in our last timeout that with 17 seconds left, we didn't have to look for a three," commented Coach Corey Mullins.  "We were hoping to extend the game by getting a two with 10 or 11 seconds left to put the pressure back on them to make free throws.  But the play we ran gave us several options, including Core floating at the top of the key."

Core's wide open three, assisted by freshman Jessie Blankenship on a kick-out, was reminiscent of John Paxson's three pointer in game six of the '93 NBA Finals, when Horace Grant assisted Paxson for the game-winner.

As is often the case when facing a good offense, though, the Lady Scots left too much time on the clock.  During the final 7.9, LaGrange dribbled down the court and took a lay-up that stifled any hope of overtime.

For the game, the Lady Scots went 27-53 (50.9%) from the field and connected on 5 threes.  The team also limited the high-profile offense of LaGrange to just 19-58 (32.8%) from the floor and 3-18 (16.7%) from three.  LaGrange had been averaging 8.5 made threes per game.

Senior Emily Dupree ended Senior Night with 11 points and 3 rebounds.  Blankenship added 15 and 9, while Margaret Cross matched Dupree with 11 points of her own.

Christine Core finished with 5 points, having made only one other shot outside of the last second three.  She also finished with 11 rebounds and 5 assists, both game-highs.

For LaGrange, Katie Covington led the way with 16 points.  Summer Bush chipped in 12 points and 8 rebounds.

"Tonight we played well in a lot of aspects of the game," continued Coach Mullins.  "We had a game plan; we came out and protected the lane and forced them to go 3 of 18 from behind the arc.  I was really pleased offensively with the contributions we got from everyone who played.  Dupree had 11, Kiaira had 8 in the second half, Core's three at the end was clutch, Ruth Gibson had a couple of nice takes, and Hannah Craft had 6 rebounds to go with her 4 points off the bench.  Overall, we have challenged ourselves as a team to respond positively to adversity, and we did that tonight which gave us the opportunity to beat a very good basketball team."

 
The Lady Scots will be back at Barnes Physical Education Center for the final home game of the regular season Thursday night when they take on Agnes Scott College at 6:00pm.