It’s finally chilly outside. The beginning-of-semester steam is beginning to wear off. And maybe we’ll get some snow soon enough! But as you students begin to reacclimate to being back on campus, don’t forget that our basketball teams came back early to prepare for the second leg of their seasons. And we can’t wait to see that hard work pay off.
The Covenant Men’s team finished 2019 off with a two-game slide. An overtime thriller saw them fall to Belhaven 85-93. 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists on a 40 minute night from guard Chris Barnette ‘22 kept the Scots close, but ultimately Belhaven snuck away with the win. On New Year’s Eve, the Scots dropped another to Millsaps 41-61. Barnette was the only Scot with double-digit scoring, chipping in 14. The Scots, however, took these two losses into the New Year and came back stronger.
Four consecutive games with at least 70 points saw four Scots victories. 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assist from Barnette and 17 points and 8 rebounds from Will Crumly ‘21 delivered a 71-66 win over Pfeiffer. The Scots followed this up with a 70-49 whomping of Piedmont that saw 18 points from Zack Allen ‘21, 14 points from Crumly, and 12 points from Barnette. The Scots third straight win came against LaGrange, helped along by 28 points from Barnette on 11-15 shooting. Covenant’s final win of the streak came against Brevard. It saw even scoring across the board, with only Crumly reaching double-digits with 12 points and 9 rebounds. The streak was finally halted by back-to-back losses to Methodist and William Peace. The Scots will have to stay sharp as a packed back end of the season approaches. And Junior Will Crumly certainly thinks they will, saying, “We’ve got a lot of guys that understand our program and understand our culture. So we hold each other accountable well in regards to being ready to play always.” It should be exciting to watch!
Similar to the men’s team, the women’s team came out of Christmas Break swinging with a 61-50 victory over Wesleyan. Margo Koby’s ‘20 11 points, Hannah Monday’s ‘21 12 points and 9 rebounds, and Rachel Thomas’ ‘21 15 points and 11 rebounds off the bench brought in the victory for the Scots. They followed this win up with three consecutive losses to LaGrange, Maryville, and Huntingdon. Ruthie Moore ‘23 and Hannah Monday’s combined 37 points and 17 rebounds were not enough to secure victory versus LaGrange. Monday had another big scoring night, putting up 15 points versus Maryville, but it was also not enough for a win. The Scots ended the slide versus Agnes Scott with a 51-35 win behind Cosette Kirsch’s ‘23 15 points. They couldn’t extend the win streak, however, with a 100-58 loss to Berea a few days later. Moore and Monday chipped in 16 and 17 points, respectively, but ultimately the team came away with a loss. The Scots are geared up for the second half of the season, and with a good combination of older players and newer players, things are looking promising. Of the vicious duo of old and young, Senior Margo Koby ‘20 says, “A special part of this season so far has been getting to see the newcomers grow both on and off the court.” It should be a fun season to finish out!
As the basketball season draws to an end, make sure you make your way on down to Barnes and catch a game or two!