The Covenant College women's basketball team welcomed in-state rival, Berry, to Barnes P.E. Center for a nonconference showdown. The Scots put together a late run, but it wasn't enough to get the win, losing 57-49.
Berry opened the game on a 13-0 run to take an early double-digit lead. Karis McIntosh knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to cut the Berry lead to 16-6 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, Abby Witt scored after grabbing an offensive rebound on Covenant's first possession to get the Scots back within single digits. The Vikings rode a 9-0 scoring run to push their lead up to 17 points. Another triple from McIntosh ended the run, and put the score at 25-11 with 4:29 remaining. The Scots scored just one point the remainder of the half and trailed 30-12 at the intermission.
Lucy Benson made a layup to get Covenant on the board in the third quarter. A basket from Megan Rouse followed by a triple from McIntosh cut the lead to 32-19. The Vikings went on a 6-0 run to push their lead back to 19 points with 2:44 remaining. An 8-0 scoring run by the Scots capped off by an inside basket just before the buzzer from Rouse made it 40-29.
Benson and Rilee Smith each hit a 3-pointer to cut the Berry lead to 42-35. A 6-0 scoring run put Covenant to within two points, the closest it had been since the first quarter. With it still a two-point game, Berry hit a triple to extend the lead to 48-43 with 2:59 left in the game. Benson hit another 3-pointer to put the score at 50-46 with just over a minute remaining. Berry made enough free throws in the final minute after Covenant was forced to foul to take home the win.
Covenant drops to 4-17 all-time against Berry. Benson scored a game-high 20 points and brought down seven rebounds. McIntosh was also in double-figures with 15 points on five made triples. The Scots shot 37.2% (16-43) while Berry was 29.3% (17-58) from the field. Covenant had 23 turnovers while Berry had 15. At the free throw line, Covenant was 80% (8-10) and Berry was 77.3% (17-22).
Covenant has a week off then plays its final game before Christmas on Saturday, Dec. 16 against Bob Jones.