LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The Covenant women's basketball program said goodbye to four graduating seniors on Wednesday night. But the visiting Huntingdon College spoiled Senior Night as the Lady Hawks took an 80-64 win over Covenant.
Margaret Cross, Hannah Craft, Christine Core, and Erica Vaughn were all recognized for their efforts on and off the court during their tenure at Covenant. Cross and Craft each played pivotal roles on the 2008-09 team that won the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament and clinched a berth into the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Tournament.
Despite the Lady Scots' best efforts, Huntingdon controlled most of the game. The Lady Hawks took a quick 3-0 lead after a 3-pointer by Morgan Crawford just five seconds after the opening tip and Huntingdon would never trail. Covenant trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, but fought back right before the break.
With less than a second left in the half, the Lady Scots inbounded the ball from underneath its own basket and Jessie Blankenship caught the pass from Core and in one motion put up a jumper that swished the net as time expired. That basket brought Covenant to within five points at 34-29 at halftime.
In the second half, Covenant stayed within striking distance as Cross buried a 3-pointer to cut the Lady Scots' deficit to 58-49 with just under eight minutes to play. Huntingdon answered by going on a 13-0 scoring run to, essentially, put the game away.
Cross led Covenant (5-15, 4-8 GSAC) in scoring with 14 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Fellow senior Core added 13 points and three assists, while Morgan Woodward chipped in 12 points and six rebounds. Blankenship recorded her fourth double-double this season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Craft scored three points, but grabbed six rebounds and had two assists. Vaughn, who got her first career start, dished out one assist.
Huntingdon (13-8, 8-4) was led by 24 points from Crawford. Raven Prater tallied 12 points and seven rebounds. Chelsea Graham scored 11 points off the bench for the Lady Hawks.
Covenant will play at Great South member Wesleyan College on Saturday afternoon. Tip-time is set for 4 p.m.
