BREVARD, N.C. - The Brevard College women's basketball team (9-5, 4-2 USA South) pulled away for a pivotal USA South Conference victory over Covenant College (6-7, 3-4 USAS) on Saturday afternoon at the Boshamer Gymnasium.
Graduate forward Destiny Williams led all Tornado scorers with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting with three made 3-pointers to go alongside six rebounds and a game-high five steals. Makenna Parkins added 14 points and four rebounds, while Avery Lockwood totaled nine points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Covenant was led by Ruthie Moore, who accumulated a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Mary Elaine Mitchell added 10 points.
Both sides shot the ball identical from the field (33%) while Covenant held the edge at the free throws line, outshooting Brevard 79% to 48%. Brevard's defense forces 27 Covenant turnovers, scoring 34 points off the visitor's miscues.
The Tornados and Scots battled through a tightly-contested first period, as Brevard extended a one-point lead to four after a buzzer-beater 3-pointer from Williams made the score 16-12 in favor of Brevard.
The second quarter of action proved close as well before the Tornados utilized a 10-2 scoring stretch to help themselves take a 28-22 lead into the halftime intermission. Williams had a game-high 11 points at the break, while Lockwood added six points in the first half of action.
Covenant narrowly outscored Brevard 13-12 in the third quarter before tying the score twice, 44-44 and 46-46, in the fourth stanza. Brevard used a 9-0 scoring run capped by a Williams made layup to give the Tornados a 55-46 advantage with 3:26 left to play. Covenant cut the lead down to four points, 56-52, with 29 seconds left to play, but the Tornados were able to ice the game down the stretch to clinch the eight-point win, 61-53.
The Tornados return to action with a midweek conference contest against Piedmont University on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Demorest, Georgia.
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