The Shadow
The Covington girls basketball team is hoping the third time will be a charm as they will get another crack at the Pioneer District regular-season champion Bath County Chargers after dispatching the Craig County Rockets 49-36 in the quarterfinals of the Pioneer District girls basketball tournament.
With the win, the Cougars advance to today’s semifinals to take on Bath County in the first semifinal at 6 p.m., while the second semifinal pits James River against Parry McCluer.
Covington sophomore Shanice Laws led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, while senior Nakayla Moore finished with 10 points and eight boards. Autumn Phillips just missed double figures with nine points.
The Rockets jumped out to an early 5-2 lead following Caitlin Bellassai’s jumper with 5:19 left in the first quarter.
Daylin Tyree knocked down a jumper to pull Covington to within one and Laws added a stickback to give the Lady Cougars a 6-5 lead. Tonya Gardner’s runner in the lane gave Craig County their final lead of the night, 7-6, with 3:14 left in the first.
Tyree stroked a foul-line jumper to start an 8-0 Covington run and capped the run with a perimeter jumper to give the Cougars a 14-7 lead as they led 14-9 after one.
The Cougars found a rhythm in the second quarter as they outscored the Rockets, 21-8.
Phillips stroked a trey from the wing to push the Lady Cougars’ lead to 19-11 and they led 29-14 following Ashleigh Brie’s 10-footer with 3:16 left in the first half.
Laws penetrated the lane and connected for two to give Covington a 33-15 lead with 1:49 and Phillips knocked down an elbow-jumper to put the Cougars on top 35-17 at the break.
Moore’s stickback capped a 6-0 run by Covington to open the third quarter and extended the Covington lead to 24 (41-17) and another Moore bucket made it 43-20 with 5:51 left in the third.
Both teams struggled the rest of the quarter as they game went scoreless until Gardner stroked a pair at the line to make the score 43-22 heading into the fourth quarter.
A Laws bucket off an assist from Phillips opened the fourth quarter scoring and increased the Lady Cougars’ lead to 45-22 as they cruised into the semifinals of the Pioneer District tournament with the 49-36 win.
Gardner led the Rockets with 11 points.
“A lot of girls got a lot of minutes tonight,” said Cougar coach Mark Pifer. “We were trying to save our legs a little for tomorrow night.
Covington honored five seniors – Nakayla Moore, Devone Laws, Marguerite Ballou, Ashleigh Brie and LaDonna Billups – before the game.
“Those seniors have been through a lot,” Pifer added. “Fourteen months ago we had lost 55 straight games. Those girls stuck it out. I’m very happy that they’ve had some success to show for it.”
