The Georgia Northwestern Lady Bobcats overcame a slow start in the first half to post a 72-46 victory over the Covenant College junior varsity squad Thursday night at the Rossville Athletic Center.
With the victory, the Lady Bobcats (5-9) earned a sweep of the season series with the Scots.
With the taller Lady Scots settling into a zone defense early, Georgia Northwestern settled for 19 3-point attempts in the first half.
The Lady Bobcats made just five of them, but a switch by the home team to a full-court press on defense with seven minutes to go in the second quarter quickly paid dividends.
Three straight steals led to an 8-2 run as Lady Bobcats erased a small deficit and forged a 33-28 lead at intermission.
More pressing in the opening moments of the second half would lead to more steals and more Covenant turnovers as Georgia Northwestern opened the third quarter on a 13-4 run to wrestle control of the game away for good. A 10-4 run over the final six minutes of the period would push the Lady Bobcats' lead to 20 points (56-36) to start the final quarter.
Georgia Northwestern would finish the game with 10 made 3-pointers, five by freshman Abby Dalton, as they coasted to the victory. Georgia Northwestern also enjoyed a huge advantage at the free throw line. They made 22-of-26 attempts, including 12-of-13 in the second half, while the Scots were just 3-of-8 for the game.
Dalton, who burned Covenant for 30 points in the first meeting at Covenant College back on Dec. 3, finished with a game-high 25 points. Tori Harvey had 18 points, including an 11-of-12 performance at the charity stripe. The sophomore also had 10 rebounds and four assists.
Gracen Hobbs had 10 points, six rebounds and five steals. Mia Clark added eight points, six rebounds and three assists. Jerriale Jackson had six points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals. Katelyn O'Toole finished with four points, while Jerrian Jackson had one point and helped out with four rebounds. Hannah Carr also contributed with three rebounds off the bench.
The Lady Bobcats' next home game will be Saturday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. versus Johnson University out of Tennessee. It will be the team's annual Pink Game to support breast cancer awareness.