Despite 18 points from Haley Soles, the Covenant women's basketball team fell 81-60 to Bluefield in the semifinal round of the NCCAA Mid-East Region Tournament on Thursday night at the Dome Gymnasium.
With the loss, Covenant is eliminated from tournament play and falls to 13-11 for the season. Bluefield advances to take on Union (Tenn.) in the region championship game on Friday night at 7 p.m.
Soles knocked down six 3-pointers and also contributed two steals on the night. Jessica Chittenden had 11 points and five rebounds, while Jessie Blankenship just missed a double-double with 10 rebounds and nine points.
Covenant trailed for almost the entirety of the game. The only tie came with 13:55 left in the first half at 15-15 after an Alexis Storteboom layup. Bluefield turned a close game for most of the first half into a 37-26 halftime lead.
Bluefield would continue to pull away in the second half as they led by as many as 25 points late in the period.
Bluefield got all but two points from its starters, all of which scored in double figures. Teq McNeal had 22 points, Ashley White added 19, Janee Simmons tallied 17, while Maryah Mazyck and Monique Robson had 11 and 10 points respectively.
Kiaira Cooper added six points and three assists with Ruth Gibson adding four points, eight rebounds, and a team-high four assists for the Lady Scots.