BREVARD, N.C. – Bekah Walter scored a team-high 20 points and led five players in double figures as Covenant completed a season sweep of Brevard with an 86-78 victory in women's basketball action at Boshamer Gym on Friday evening.
Walter, who finished 6-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-6 at the free throw line, led the way for a Covenant (10-11) offense that finished 26-of-53 (49.1%) for the contest. Her supporting cast included double-digit outings by Taylor Robinson (15), Joanna Smith (14), Emma Grimes (12) and Kaley Hallmark (11).
Junior guard Annalee Bollinger guided the Brevard (10-8) offense with 22 points, hitting 8-of-21 from the floor and all six free throw attempts. Teammate Deja Riddick tied her season high (15 points) after coming off the bench to hit 7-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-2 at the charity stripe.
Jade Napier also put together a solid outing for the Tornados, capping off a 4-of-8 shooting performance with 11 points. Brevard's offense, which hit 32-of-69 (46.4%) on the evening, was limited by 25 fouls that resulted in Bollinger and Whitney DeMoss fouling out.
Covenant's offense enjoyed its best quarter of the night in the third quarter as the Scots outscored Brevard 25-16. Robinson was responsible for nine of the Scots' points, hitting 4-of-6 from the field to go along with three points, including a stretch of five straight points that narrowed the Tornado lead to 42-40 at the 5:32 mark.
A timely trey by Hallmark provided Covenant with a one-point advantage, but the Tornados rallied behind scores from Riddick and Bollinger to pull even at 46. Three Scots accounted for the final five points of the quarter, but it was a 3-pointer from the corner by Brevard's Taryn Ledford brought the game to a 51-all deadlock heading to the fourth.
The Scots exploded for 35 points in the fourth, knocking down 14-of-18 from the free throw line, as they hit 50 percent (10-20) from the floor. Smith led the way with 10 points, while Walter and Grimes contributed eight and six points, respectively.
Separated by just two points over the first 3:48 of the fourth, the two teams endured three ties before reaching a 59-59 deadlock. Back-to-back treys by Grimes provided Covenant with a six-point lead, which quickly grew to 11 following a long distance shot by Robinson.
Napier answered with a 3-pointer, while Bollinger and Destiny Williams came through in the clutch for the Tornados, but Covenant managed to keep the lead at seven with just over a minute remaining. A late surge from Riddick and Bollinger was not enough to complete the rally as the Scots earned the eight-point win.
Six points from Grimes allowed Covenant to establish an 11-0 advantage inside the first four minutes of the contest. Deja Riddick drove past the Scots' defense for the first Brevard points, which was quickly followed by scores from Ty'She Washington and Bollinger as Covenant owned a 13-6 edge at the 4:26 mark.
Riddick and Kelsie Rhyne, who accounted for three points each, helped the Tornados draw even at 14 as Brevard put together an 8-0 run. The Scots closed out the final 1:21 of the frame on a 7-2 run, taking a 21-16 lead into the second quarter.
The Tornados regained their offensive rhythm to open the second quarter, putting together a 13-0 run behind four points from DeMoss and three off the hand of Napier. Covenant tallied its first points on a series of free throws by Walter, but a jumper by Bollinger again stretched the Tornado lead to eight.
Robinson scored three points for the Scots, but layups by DeMoss and Riddick allowed Brevard to take a nine-point lead into the intermission. The second quarter marked the best shooting performance for the Tornados in the contest, as they hit 9-of-16 (56.3%) from the floor, while the Brevard defense limited Covenant to 1-of-14 (7.1%) shooting from the field.
The Tornados face a quick turnaround as they return to the court on Saturday, Feb. 3, to face Berea at 2 p.m.