Playing its third game in four days, the Covenant women's basketball team had trouble getting shots to fall in the first half and fell 67-58 to Meredith on Saturday in USA South action at Barnes PE Center.
With the loss, Covenant falls to 2-16 overall (2-8 USA South), while Meredith (7-7) remains atop the North Division of the USA South with a 6-2 mark.
After the Scots took a 10-9 lead on an Alex Quimby layup, Meredith responded with a 10-0 run to take a 19-10 lead. Ashley Hudson keyed the run with a 3-pointer and a layup on back-to-back possessions. Covenant trailed 35-24 at halftime, and shot just 29.4 percent from the floor. The Avenging Angels, while they only shot 33.3 percent themselves, were able to connect on seven triples.
After Morgan Woodward scored the first points of the second half, Meredith responded with another run, this time a 13-2 spurt, to stretch the lead to 48-28.
The Scots refused to quit, however, and started to claw their way back in it as their shots began to fall. Gradually, they reeled in the Avenging Angels, and had whittled the deficit down to seven points after a 3-pointer by Haley Soles that made it 65-58 with 1:11 to play.Covenant wasn't able to get any closer, as Meredith pulled out the victory.
The Scots were led by Aleigha Williams, who scored 13 points. Rachel Price nearly had a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, while Liz Dougherty and Woodward each chipped in 10. Abbey Bailey recorded 11 rebounds less than 24 hours after tallying a career-high 17 against Mary Baldwin.
Meredith went with a balanced attack which saw no player score in double-figures and seven score at least seven points. Stephanie Girard and Gabi Jessup each ahd nien points off the bench with each going 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Next up for Covenant is a trip to Demorest, Georgia, to take on Piedmont on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.