Jessica Bell led three Covenant women's basketball players in double figure scoring with her 18 points as the Scots won for a seventh straight time after a 62-52 victory at Agnes Scott on Saturday in the regular season finale.
The win stretched the winning streak to seven for Covenant (13-11, 8-6 USA South) and clinches the No. 5 seed from the West in next week's USA South Tournament. Covenant will travel to No. 4 West seed Huntingdon on Wednesday for a first round matchup.
Bell had 18 points, seven rebounds and four steals in the win, while Kaley Hallmark had 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Bekah Walter scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half.
Covenant got off to a slow start and trailed 14-13 after the first quarter. But the Scots heated up from the field in the second period, connecting on 53.8 percent with three 3-pointers. The Scots scored the final two points of the first period and then continued the run into the second, capping a 12-2 spurt on a Walter jumper with 7:05 left in the second that gave Covenant a 23-16 lead.
After Agnes Scott briefly regained the lead at 25-23, Covenant went on a 10-0 run to take a 33-25 lead into halftime. Hallmark was the catalyst during the stretch as she scored eight points.
Agnes Scott (3-22, 2-12 USA South) hung around over the final two periods, but Covenant's lead hovered around double digits the rest of the way. The Scots led by as many as 16, 59-43, after a Bell layup with 3:59 left in the fourth.
Emma Grimes added three 3-pointers and nine points with five rebounds for Covenant. Joanna Smith collected seven rebounds and Hannah Monday grabbed five.
As a team, Covenant shot 37.5 percent (24-of-64) with seven 3-pointers. Agnes Scott connected on 33.9 percent (21-of-62) and was just 3-of-18 from 3-point land.
Garis Grant led the host Scotties with 15 points and nine rebounds. Natasha Banks added 12 points and Anna Weimerskirch 11 in the loss.
Covenant will travel to Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday to face Huntingdon in the first round of the USA South Tournament. Start time is set for 8 p.m. EST.
In the men's game, on Senior Night, senior Berto Dryden scored 21 points and extended its winning streak to seven with a 76-64 victory over Ferrum in USA South action.
Before the game, Dryden and fellow senior Patjo Twagirayezu were honored for their careers at Covenant. The duo, both transfers, have been integral parts of the program's success over the last three seasons winning 47 games, a USA South Tournament title, and making the program's first NCAA Tournament.
Dryden's 21 points moves him just eight points shy of 1,000 for his entire collegiate career. The guard was 8-of-14 from the floor with five 3-pointers to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Twagirayezu scored six points and grabbed four rebounds.
The win pushed Covenant's win streak to seven. The Scots (15-8, 10-5 USA South) also moved into second place in the USA South West Division after Piedmont fell earlier in the day. Covenant, which has already clinched a berth to the USA South Tournament, is vying for a top-two seed in the West in order to host a quarterfinal round game in the tournament.
The difference in Saturday's contest with Ferrum was the early minutes of the second half. Covenant led 37-34 at the break, but the Scots scored the first eight points of the second half, backed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Dryden and a basket from Caleb Haynes, to go ahead 45-34. The lead stretched to 12 on a James Mitchell 3-pointer with 13:03 left and the lead never dipped below double digits the rest of the way.
Mitchell hit eight 3-pointers for the Scots, giving him 100 on the year, and finished with a game-high 24 points. Bailey Spragg chipped in six points with five rebounds and three assists and Jared Jauch also tallied six points to go with two assists. Haynes ended with six points and four boards.
Ferrum (5-17, 3-11 USA South) received 22 points and nine rebounds from Marcus Huff and a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds from Josh Dudley. RJ Turner and Rashad Reed had 14 points apiece for the visiting Panthers who shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) for the game.
Covenant struggled to connect in the early part of the first half, but managed 52 percent shooting in the half to take a three-point lead into the break. For the game, the Scots hit 14 3-pointers and shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the field.
Covenant will play its final regular season home game on Tuesday against Brevard. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.