The Covenant College women's basketball team faced its toughest challenge thus far in conference play taking on LaGrange inside Barnes P.E. Center. After Covenant controlled much of the game, a late LaGrange run sent the game to OT before the Scots put it into gear to get a statement win 88-86.
Breezy Savage knocked down 3-pointers on consecutive possessions early on as the game was tied at six. The Scots kept finding rhythm from downtown as Lucy Benson, Abby Witt, and Cair Canady hit 3-pointers to put Covenant up 16-12.
Savage capped off a great first quarter for the Scots with a 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining to put the score at 24-16.
The lead reached double-digits at 28-18 after Hannah Eidson had a fast break layup followed by a pair of free throws by Witt in the second quarter. Brooklyn Konrad made an inside basket to make it 34-20 with 6:03 left in the quarter. A quick 9-0 run from the Panthers cut the lead down to five points. The Scots scored 10 of the next 14 points to push their lead back to 11 points at 44-33. Savage buried another triple before LaGrange made a layup with 17 seconds remaining to make it 47-37 at the intermission.
The two teams traded baskets and stops for the first seven minutes as a made free throw by Eidson put the score at 58-48 to begin the third quarter. After an old-fashioned 3-point play by LaGrange, Covenant ended the quarter on a 6-0 run, highlighted by four points from Konrad.
Benson got a triple to go followed by a transition basket from Ora Hall to push Covenant's lead to 69-53. A 13-2 run for the Panthers put them back within striking distance at 71-66. The Scots went scoreless for the final 3:28 of the quarter, but held on to force OT with the game tied at 73.
Hall scored five seconds into the period to set the tone for OT. Witt nailed four free throws and Konrad scored on consecutive possessions as Covenant answered every LaGrange punch it threw and led 83-78 with 1:17 remaining. The Scots made five free throws the rest of the game to close out the win.
Covenant moves to 7-24 all-time against LaGrange. Witt was vital for the Scots posting a double-double with a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds while going 13-of-16 at the free-throw line. She also had seven steals. Savage, the defending CCS Player of the Week, also was a key player, with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Benson with 13 points and Konrad with a career-high 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting also were in double-figures for the Scots.
Covenant shot 39.7% (27-68) from the field and 35.7% (10-28) from three while LaGrange was 41.8% (33-79) and 22.2% (4-18) in the same categories. Each team had 45 rebounds and 21 turnovers. The win ends a nine-game losing streak to the Panthers dating back to 2020.
Covenant hosts Huntingdon on Tuesday, Jan. 14th at 5 p.m. inside Barnes P.E. Center.