North Gwinnett News

FEBRUARY­ 4– Following a tough loss to the conference-leading Berea Mountaineers, the Covenant women's basketball team continued conference play with back-to-back home games against Piedmont and Agnes Scott. The Scots held an overall record of 5-12 on the season, 2-6 in conference games, heading into the pair of contests. 
 
On Saturday, January 28, the Scots hosted the Piedmont Lions for a 2:00 PM matchup. Covenant would fall to the Lions by a score of 72-57, in favor of Piedmont. Despite a solid shooting performance for the Scots, Piedmont was able to garner a strong contribution from their bench who provided 32 of the team's 72 total points. 
 
The slow start for the Scots in the first half would ultimately leave too much of a deficit to overcome. However, Covenant did play a strong second half, out-scoring the Lions by a margin of nine points. 
 
The offensive efforts for the Scots were led by junior guard Karis McIntosh's 12-point performance, while also tallying an assist in the game. Senior guard Cosette Kirsch also had an impressive performance, scoring 11 points in addition to her three rebounds and one assist. 
 
Despite the loss to Piedmont, the Scots carried their second half momentum into the following contest against Agnes Scott. Covenant showed strong resilience as they bounced back to beat the Scotties by a score of 66-30. 
 
Freshman guard Amanda Neff led the offensive surge with a career-high 12 points. Neff also pulled down three rebounds and an assist during the game. 
 
Senior guard Ruthie Moore finished the game with 11 points of her own to go along with six rebounds and a pair of assists. The offense was a clear team effort, as 11 different players for the Scots contributed points throughout the contest. 
 
With the win against Agnes Scott, Covenant moved to 6-12 on the season with a 3-7 conference record. Though the Scots hoped to carry the momentum of their victory over Agnes Scott into their following matchup, they could not secure the sequential win over their next conference opponent, the Belhaven Blazers. 
 
The Blazer's sharp shooting proved to be a difficult task for the Scots throughout the entirety of the game. In the second quarter alone, Belhaven shot 73.33 % from the field while shooting 100% from both the three-point and free throw line.
 
From the tip off, Covenant struggled to secure the lead, allowing Belhaven to get an early jump with an 11-point advantage. Though the Scots battled to stay in the game, the scoring deficit built by the Blazers during the second quarter proved to be too large to overcome. The scoreboard would show a final of 83-59 to end the contest.
 
While three Scots tied for the team-high in points, forwards Abby Witt and Megan Rouse played a significant role for Covenant both from the field and on the boards. Witt and Rouse both scored 12 a-piece and earned a combined seven rebounds. Karis McIntosh also ended the game with a 12-point performance of her own. 
 
UP NEXT
Covenant Women's Basketball is set to face Maryville on the road next Tuesday at 5:00 PM, men's game to follow.
 
CONNECT WITH THE SCOTS
Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information. 

Original source can be found here.