The Covenant women's basketball team climbed back from a double-digit second half deficit to tie the game late, but Bob Jones' Madison Shupe hit a 3-pointer with 1.0 second left to give the visiting Bruins a 56-53 win over the Scots on Tuesday night inside Barnes PE Center.
Covenant (3-7) trailed by 12 with over one minute left in the third quarter, but used a 13-2 run to get within 42-41 with 6:50 remaining in the fourth after a Margo Koby 3-pointer.
The Scots saw the deficit grow to eight with just over three minutes left before a flurry of baskets brought Covenant all the way back.
A Michaela Price 3-pointer and a Cosette Kirsch bucket on consecutive possession knotted the score at 53 with 31 seconds left.
Shupe and Bob Jones had the final answer, though. Shupe buried a deep 3-pointer with 1.0 second left giving the Bruins a 56-53 edge. Covenant had one last attempt, but Kirsch's long 3-pointer missed at the buzzer.
Kirsch finished with 13 points and seven rebounds to lead Covenant. Koby also reached double figures with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Ruthie Moore had seven points and a career-high 15 rebounds in the loss. Price ended with eight points and Hannah Monday chipped in seven points and four rebounds.
Bob Jones (4-6) led for nearly 34 minutes of the contest. The Bruins were paced by Delaney Edwards' 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Jessica Wiedmann came off the bench to score 10 points. Covenant limited Shupe, the Bruins' leading scorer, to eight points but she had the shot that decided the contest.
Both teams struggled to find consistency on offense all night. Bob Jones connected on 35.7 percent (20-of-56) for the game, but made nine 3-pointers. Covenant mustered just 29.6 percent (21-of-71) from the field with seven 3-pointers.
Despite Covenant's struggles from the field, the Scots stayed within range before putting together a rally late in the game. The Scots' only lead of the night came early in the first quarter as Moore converted a layup that gave Covenant a 4-2 edge with 5:18 left in the period.
Bob Jones led 31-23 at the half after shooting 41.4 percent (12-of-29) over the first 20 minutes.
Both teams collected 42 rebounds on the night, with Covenant holding a 19-13 margin on the offensive glass. Covenant converted 19 Bob Jones turnovers into 21 points and produced nine fastbreak points.
Covenant will conclude the first semester of play on Saturday when Johnson (Tenn.) comes to Barnes PE Center. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.