The Shadow
BUENA VISTA – Most teams would find it difficult to overcome 17 first half turnovers or a scoring drought that lasted over nine minutes.
Covington forced itself into attempting both against Parry McCluer on Tuesday night.
The Cougars traveled to Buena Vista for a Pioneer District match-up with the Fighting Blues, and stuggled early and often in the contest, falling by a final of 48-27. The Cougars shot just 17 percent on the night (6-35), compared to Parry McCluer’s 37 percent from the floor (17-46).
The first quarter saw the teams trade punches early, but the Covington offense disappeared soon after.
After Nakayla Moore knocked down a short jumper with 5:38 left in the first to tie the game at 4-4, the entire Cougar team went cold. Parry McCluer took full advantage of the visitors’ shooting woes and ended the first quarter on a 14-0 run. Eleven turnovers didn’t help matters for Covington, as the Blues scored a majority of their baskets in transition.
Covington head coach Mark Pifer was disappointed with his team’s performance on offense. “We buried ourselves tonight. We can’t expect to have a chance at the end of games if we don’t compete early. We have to stop digging ourselves into holes and we need to start taking care of the ball.”
With a 14-point deficit to begin the second quarter, the Cougar offense continued to struggle. However, the Blues had some shooting troubles of their own to deal with, and Covington managed to hang around. The two offenses combined to score four points in the first 4:06 of the quarter.
Shanice Laws finally put another point on the board for the Cougars at the 3:54 mark with a free throw, ending the scoring drought for Covington at nine minutes, 34 seconds. Trailing by 15 (20-5), Laws went to work at the charity stripe. Over the final 2:46 of the half, Laws went 6-8 from the line and had nine of Covington’s 14 first half points. The Cougars headed to the locker room at halftime trailing, 26-14.
The third quarter saw Covington chip away at Parry McCluer’s lead. Two more Laws free throws pulled the Cougars within nine (28-19), and a Cathryn Roe lay-up off a steal at the 2:25 mark cut the deficit to seven (30-23). However, that would be as close as Covington would get. The offense stalled the remainder of the quarter and the Cougars trailed by nine headed into the fourth.
The Cougar offense in the final period returned to the form it took in the opening quarter, scoring only four points down the stretch. After a Mary Woodson basket with 7:10 left in the game, Covington struggled with the full court press defense that Parry McCluer enacted. The Blues outscored the Cougars 16-4 in the final quarter and cruised to the 48-27 victory.
“I thought we did a good job defensively, especially against their shooters. We just have to play better on offense,” Pifer added.
Laws led the Cougars with 13 points, all of which came from the free throw line. Autumn Phillips added five, and Daylin Tyree chipped in three.
Roe, Moore, and Mary Woodson rounded out the scoring with two points apiece.
Parry McCluer made it a sweep on the evening, winning the JV game 42-29. Lindsey Coleman scored 20 for the Fighting Blues.
Samone Moore led Covington with 13 points. Leteashia Clarke had seven, and Bailey Hall and Montana Hall added four each. Tiffany Billups finished the scoring with one point.
Covington will be back in action when they travel to Craig County on Thursday. Action begins with the JV contest at 6 p.m.
