LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. - The Brevard College women's basketball team (10-8, 5-5 USAS) withstood a late run to earn a 57-53 USA South Conference victory over Covenant College (7-10, 4-7 USAS) on Thursday evening at the Barnes PE Center in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Destiny Williams led the way with her sixth double-double of the 2021-22 season, scoring 13 points while adding 10 rebounds in addition to three assists and two steals. Makenna Parkins added 12 points and four rebounds, while Shakirah Thompson also reached double figures with 11 points and three made 3-pointers. Avery Lockwood and Chyna Pouncey added six and five boards, respectively.
Covenant's Ruthie Moore (24 points) and Cosette Kirsch (20 points) accounted for 44 of the Scots' 53 total points on the evening. Moore was able to haul down a game-high 15 rebounds as well.
Brevard shot at a 40% clip compared to Covenant's 34%, while making eight 3-pointers. Covenant held a 38-33 rebounding advantage, while BC dished 11 assists out, forced 17 turnovers, and totaled 18 points off the bench.
Covenant scored the first two buckets of the game before a 9-0 run capped by a Parkins 3-pointer gave Brevard a 9-4 lead with 3:20 left in the first quarter. BC extended its lead to a seven-point margin, 14-7, before a 3-pointer and a layup by the hosts brought the contest to a 14-12 margin at the end of the period.
With the score at 18-17 in favor of the Tornados, BC utilized a Journey Tyler bucket and Williams 3-pointer to push its margin back up to six points. The Tornados would take a 26-20 lead into the halftime intermission. Thompson led all Tornados, scoring all 11 of her points in the first half.
Brevard pushed its lead up to a game-high 13 points after a pair of Tyler free throws that made the contest 37-24, but a 7-0 run by the Scots to end the frame left the score at 37-31 heading into the contest's final period.
BC quickly scored eight of the first 10 points in the fourth quarter, giving the visitors a 12-point cushion, 45-33. However, the Scots put together a pivotal 15-2 scoring run to take their first lead since early in the first quarter, 48-47, with just 2:46 left to play.
Parkins was able to make back-to-back critical layups, followed by a Lockwood bucket off a Williams assist that gave the Tornados a 53-50 lead with 1:03 left in the game. Brevard iced the game down the stretch with a pair of critical stops and a 4-for-4 mark at the charity stripe for Williams, as Brevard earned a hard-fought conference victory, 57-53.
The Tornados are scheduled to return home for a pair of contests, first against Wesleyan College on Saturday at 2 p.m. in a non-conference tilt. Brevard will then host Agnes Scott College on Sunday at 2 p.m. in USA South action.
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-BC-