LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- Coming off a weekend to remember, the Lady Scots found themselves staring at another 3 game week Tuesday evening when they welcomed the Lady Tigers of Sewanee as the first contest of their busy upcoming schedule. When the two teams met earlier this season, the Lady Tigers survived the marathon of a game which boasted 226 total possessions and a final score of 100-96. Tuesday's rematch, another thriller, ended with the Lady Scots on top 52-46. The Lady Scots have now won three straight.
"After the Huntingdon game- which was our last loss- our team was at a very low point," spoke junior Hannah Craft after the game. "Each of us made up our mind after that game that we didn't want to feel that way again. Coach Mullins and Coach Duble made adjustments in practice so that we were focused on things that had to be fixed in order for us to win. The past three wins have been a team effort and we remain humble and hungry to keep this winning streak up."
Teams change over the duration of a season; it's a natural progression of the sport. This was evident early as Sewanee, who had forced the tempo in the first game, had switched schemes altogether by changing up their pressing game. Yet with this change, the Lady Scots did not get off to a good start. As the game clock crept inside 17:00 minutes in the first half, the advantage was all geared towards the visitors as they had shut out the Lady Scots thus far.
But Covenant has changed over the last few months too. Earlier in the season, the team's inability to put something together offensively would have been a back-breaker. Tuesday night, it took patience and good defense, but the Lady Scots fought hard and tied the score at 11 with a three-pointer by junior Christine Core with 9:45 left. Back and forth the lead fluctuated, and with under a minute left in the first half, the score was tied again at 21. In the last minute, the Lady Scots got big baskets by sophomore Jessie Blankenship and a three with 6 seconds left from junior Margaret Cross to give the Lady Scots a 5 point margin heading into the locker room.
The team stats weren't spectacular, but every starter contributed in the offense with Core leading the way with 6 points off 2 threes. Junior Hannah Craft added 5 of her own, hitting 5-8 from the free throw line, and she also ripped down 6 rebounds.
Coming out of the locker room with a lead, the Lady Scots were confident as they marched their lead as high as 9 points in the second half. But the Lady Tigers were not going to give up that easily and cranked up their defense and kept Covenant off the scoreboard for nearly three and a half straight minutes.
Freshman Brittany Harvey hit a pair of threes at the 13:03 mark and again with 9:46 on the clock to bookend the dry spell. Sewanee answered with a three by Dana Middleton on one possession, and on the next, Logan Miller hit her three, was fouled, and as her free throw went through the net, Covenant's lead vanished. In the last 8:42, the ruthless Lady Scots defense only surrendered 2 points until it was inside the last minute. While holding Sewanee almost scoreless, the Lady Scots found 14 points of offense and put the game away on crucial free throws to win their third straight game at home in 5 days.
"I thought we played really well on the defensive end," said Coach Corey Mullins. "We held them to 26% from the field, and that was big for us down the stretch. I was also pleased with us finishing at the free throw line (12-12 in the second half and 80% from the game). It was good to get some production from Brittany Harvey and Taylor Cameron, who hit 3 of our 6 threes off the bench."
Indeed, it was truly a team effort as no player scoring more than Blankenship (10 points). The backcourt for the Lady Scots (Core and Cooper) both put in 8, while Craft grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Lady Scots won this game at the free throw line. The squad went 12-12 in the second half and 18-21 for the game.
The victory extends the ladies' winning streak to 3 games, the longest winning streak in two years for the Covenant Lady Scots basketball team. But there are still more games to be played. Thursday the Lady Scots travel to Atlanta to take on Spelman College at 7:00pm.
