COVINGTON – The Covington Lady Buccs basketball program has been blessed to have so many outstanding players over the years – several who have established a legacy due to their amazing careers – Judy Miller, Cindy Byers, Lynnette Roeth, Michelle Meyer, Samantha Whiteman, and several others.
Currently the Lady Buccs have a player who is in the process of reaching the same level, junior standout Maggie Anderson, who is in her third season as a starter and a leader of the team. Maggie has shown the same competitive drive, determination and work ethic of the great players from the past and now her name is starting to show up in the record books as she broke the school record of consecutive free throws made Thursday night in a 50-11 victory over Bethel.
The previous record of 26 consecutive free throws made was established by legendary player Judy Miller, who played for the Lady Buccs from 1976 through 1980 and is a member of the Covington Athletic Hall of Fame. Anderson broke the 44-year record in the first period on Thursday and now has advanced to 28 consecutive free throws made.
At this point of the season Maggie Anderson has made 58 of 60 free throws for a percentage of 96.7%. She owns the school record for the best free throw percentage in a season with 86.6%, which she established a year ago as a sophomore.
The accomplishment made by Anderson was capped by her outstanding performance of leading the Lady Buccs with a game-high 20 points in just three quarters of action due to the numbers on the scoreboard.
Anderson started the Lady Buccs off by scoring 14 of the 21 points put up by the team in the opening frame. Obviously, Maggie could have put up more individual points on the board throughout the remainder of the game, but her unselfishness was on display as she consistently passed the ball to give her teammates ideal scoring opportunities.
The Lady Buccs led 21-2 after one, 34-5 at the break and 43-5 after three. Covington couldn’t empty its bench until the fourth period due to the junior varsity game and when the young players stepped out onto the floor the Lady Buccs outscored Bethel 7-6 in the final frame.
Overall, it was a solid team performance by Covington as it limited Bethel to just two two-point buckets, two treys and one free throw throughout the entire game. Plus, eight of the nine players who were available to play for Covington contributed with points.
The win ends a two-game losing skid for Covington and improves its record to 13-4 overall and 8-1 in the TRC.
Next up is a stiff challenge at Northridge on Saturday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Covington – 21 – 34 – 43 – 50
Bethel – 2 – 5 – 5 – 11
COVINGTON SCORING:
Maggie Anderson – 20
Gracie Anderson – 8
Carlie Besecker – 6
Delaney Murphy – 6
Avery Koffer – 3
Bella Batdorf – 3
Hannah Alexander – 2
Stevi Newhouse – 2
BETHEL SCORING:
Kaylee Wilson – 3
Annabelle Adams – 3
Emma Evans – 2
Madi Halfhill – 2
Layla Moore – 1
THREE-POINT SCORING:
Covington – Maggie Anderson (3), Gracie Anderson (2), Avery Koffer (1), Bella Batdorf (1)
Bethel – Kaylee Wilson (1), Annabelle Adams (1)
