TROY – The Covington Lady Buccs can beat a team in so many different ways, one of those being when they have an off night.
Saturday at Troy Christian the Lady Buccs struggled offensively, but somehow managed to escape with a hard-fought 41-37 victory.
And it was junior Carlie Besecker who came up big for Covington as she scored a game-high 22 points, while sophomore Maggie Anderson contributed with 10 points as the duo combined to score 32 of the 41 points put up by the Lady Buccs.
Besecker’s impact was evident from the outset as she scored all nine points for the Lady Buccs in the first period. Five of those points came at the free throw line as the Eagles had a difficult time handling Besecker inside.
Covington struggled immensely in the second period and much of that was due to the gritty effort by the youthful Eagles. The Lady Buccs could only manage six points in the frame on buckets by Besecker, Maggie Anderson and Gracie Anderson. Troy Christian outscored Covington 10-6 in the fame to take a 17-15 lead at the brake.
The Lady Buccs finally got things going offensively after the break, but so did Troy Christian. Besecker scored 11 second half points fo the Lady Buccs, while Maggie Anderson found a groove and score eight of her ten points after the break.
Big buckets by Gracie Anderson and Avery Koffer helped the cause in holding on for a four-point win.
Getting to the free throw line was a big difference for Covington as the Lady Buccs made nine of 14 free throws, while Troy Christian was four-for-six.
Troy Christian’s youth rose to the occasion for the Eagles as four freshmen combined to score 24 of the team’s 37 points – Riley Orange (9), Christina Brubaker (7), Reign Wilkins (4) and Karis Miller (4).
For Covington, it improves too 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the TRC. The Lady Buccs travel to New Bremen on Tuesday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Covington – 9 – 6 – 16 – 10 = 41
Troy Christian – 7 – 10 – 13 – 7 = 37
COVINGTON SCORING:
Carlie Besecker – 22
Maggie Anderson – 10
Gracie Anderson – 4
Avery Koffer – 4
Erika Gostomsky – 1
TROY CHRISTIAN SCORING:
Riley Orange – 9
Brooklyn Lavy – 7
Christina Brubaker – 7
Jocey Hill – 4
Reign Wilkins – 4
Karis Miller – 4
Hope Carrell – 2
THREE-POINT SCORING:
Covington: None
Troy Christian – Riley Orange (3)
