After falling behind early and trailing by 23 in the first part of the second half, the Covenant women's basketball team fought their way back into the game before tiring and eventually succumbing to Huntingdon 62-53.
The loss drops the Scots to 2-10 in the USA South, 2-18 overall, while Huntingdon moves to .500 on the year (9-9) and 4-6 in conference play.
In the first half, Covenant shot just 26.5 percent from the field, and headed into the locker room down 34-23. While the Hawks shot just 37.1 percent themselves, they were able to hit their 3-pointers, draining 4-of-9 from downtown before the intermission.
It was more of the same in the second half, as Huntingdon hit six 3-of-4 3-pointers and 6-of-8 shots overall to build a commanding 49-26 with 14:51 to play. The Scots continued to struggle knocking down shots, as they went 0-of-4 in the same span.
But things started to turn around as Covenant starting hitting its shots and Huntingdon started missing them. After they had taken that 23-point lead, the Hawks would go almost seven minutes without scoring. The Scots took advantage of the lull to go on a 20-0 run, which cut the lead down to three, 49-46. Aleigha Williams and Jessica Bell keyed the run, combining for 15 of the points, with Williams hitting three 3-pointers. Her final triple cut the lead to 49-45.
After Morgan Woodward split a pair of free throws, Huntingdon finally broke through with a basket by Tan Munford with 8:10 to play. That sparked a quick run of 5-0 in the next couple of minutes that pushed the lead back out to eight and out of reach for the fatigued Scots. Covenant wasn't able to get the lead back within six for the remainder of the game.
Williams led all scorers with 19 points. She was the only player for the Scots in double figures, who were without leading scorer Haley Soles for the night. Bell added eight to go with six rebounds, and Morgan Woodward had six points, eight rebounds, four assists, and five steals.
For Huntingdon, Munford had 12 points and 16 rebounds. Her totals, however, were overshadowed by the 15 and 18 put up by teammate Pat Pickens. Jenna Dorman added 11. The Hawks had 26 turnovers, which Covenant turned into 24 points.
Covenant had only 13 turnovers for the game, but shot only 26.6 percent from the floor and 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from the 3-point line.
The Scots will get back at it on Wednesday, when they play host to 18th-ranked Maryville at 7:30 p.m.