DECEMBER 2, 2019 - COVINGTON
Going into the season first-year coach Brandon Studebaker knew it was going to take time for his team to establish an identity. And, throughout the process there would be growing pains along the way.

What Studebaker didn’t anticipate would be the loss of sophomore Makenzee Maschino, a returning letter winner from a year ago who has a solid all-around game and gives relentless effort at both ends of the floor.

The loss of Maschino showed early on against Greenon on Monday as the visitors frustrated Covington with full court defensive pressure from the opening tip.

This led to a 12-6 Greenon lead before Covington was able to figure out a way to beat the pressure for easy buckets in transition. The result was an 11-0 run for Covington to close out the opening frame with a 17-12 lead.

Covington pushed the lead to ten points midway through the second, but Greenon made adjustments by knocking down outside shots to close the gap to 36-33 at the break.

And it was senior Morgan Kimmel and sophomore Claudia Harrington who sparked Covington’s offense by combining for 26 of the 36 points in the opening half.

Covington maintained the lead throughout the third quarter, but went cold from the floor in the final frame as Greenon outscored the Lady Buccs 17-6 in the fourth quarter for the 63-56 win.

Harrington and Kimmel accounted for 42 of the 56 points on the night with Harrington scoring a team-high 26 and Kimmel adding 16.

Through it all, there are many positives for Covington to build on.

One, the attitude and effort of the girls. Not once did the kids take plays off or go through the motions. They stuck together and played for each other.

Two, the leadership of the two Morgans - seniors Morgan Kimmel and Morgan Lowe. This was evident by the hustle the provide on the floor, the excitement they display when a teammate makes a play, and the communication on the floor to “run the offense”.

Three, the impact of sophomores Claire Fraley, Claudia Harrington and Ellie Hedges. All three have shown maturity and growth early in the season.

The Lady Buccs drop to 1-3 (1-0 CCC) and travel to Twin Valley South on Thursday. 

BOXSCORE:
Covington: 17,  19,  14,  6 = 56
Greenon: 12,  21,  13,  17 = 63

Covington Scoring: 56
19-2pt FG, 4-3pt FG, 6/13 FT 
Claudia Harrington - 26
Morgan Kimmel - 16
Claire Fraley - 7
Josie Crowell - 5
Morgan Lowe - 2

Greenon Scoring: 63
10-2pt FG, 9-3pt FG, 16/22 FT
Ware - 33
Benedict - 13
Potter - 5
West - 4
Pry - 4
Mader - 2
Henry - 2