SEWANEE, Tenn. -- Haley Soles and Ruth Gibson combined for 25 points and six 3-pointers as they led the Covenant women's basketball team past Sewanee 51-43 on Tuesday night.
The win snaps a three-game losing skid for the Lady Scots who see their record move to 7-6 for the season. Covenant also claimed a season sweep over the Tigers as they defeated Sewanee 63-47 earlier this season. Sewanee drops to 5-10 overall.
Soles scored all 13 of her points in the second half as Covenant staved off a Sewanee rally. The freshman knocked down three triples and hit four free-throws. Gibson scored nine points in the first half, including a pair of 3-pointers, and finished with 12 points for the game.
Jessie Blankenship notched eight points and three rebounds. Her three rebounds give her exactly 500 for her career in a total of 65 games. Alexis Storteboom added eight points and four rebounds.
The first half saw Covenant take advantage of 13 Sewanee turnovers in building a double digit lead. Liz Dougherty and Morgan Woodward converted steals into fastbreak layups on consecutive possessions to give the Lady Scots a 27-14 lead with 4:11 left in the half. Covenant would go into the break up 29-24.
In the second half, Soles started to heat up. The freshman knocked down a 3-pointer on Covenant's first possession to give the Lady Scots a 32-24 lead, then gave Covenant its largest lead of the contest at 40-26 with a transition 3, off an assist from Woodward, with 16:05 remaining.
But then the Lady Scots suffered a nine minute scoring drought and Sewanee was able to creep back into the game. The Tigers capped an 11-0 scoring run with a pair of Kayla Sewell free-throws with 8:40 left in the game. Woodward stopped the cold-spell for the Lady Scots with a driving layup that made it 42-37 with just over seven minutes left.
That Woodward layup began a 9-0 scoring run for Covenant that Soles ended with a pair of free-throws that gave the Lady Scots an 11-point lead at 49-38 with 4:25 left. Sewanee would not threaten again.
Three Sewanee players scored in double figures led by Sewell and Paige Lowe who each had 12 points. Sewell recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds. Jamie Chauvin added 11 points for the Tigers.
Covenant returns to conference play on Thursday at Agnes Scott. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
