COVINGTON – The Covington Lady Buccs opened the season with a convincing 55-23 win over Houston on Friday at Covington High School.

And it was a fast start by Covington that got things rolling as junior Gracie Anderson opened the scoring with a trey that sparked a 9-0 lead early in the first period that forced a Houston timeout.

The timeout just delayed the inevitable as Covington pushed its lead to 17-9 at the end of the first and 36-13 at the break.

With a running clock to start third period, Covington managed to push its lead to 54-21 with one period to play and then cruised to the 55-23 win.

Maggie Anderson had a huge game offensively for the Lady Buccs as she led the team with a game-high 16 points despite playing just three quarters. Her sister Maggie had 11 points, while Carlie Besecker tallied 15 points. Senior Erika Gostomksy contributed with 6 points as well.

But what made Covington’s performance impressive was the effort of freshman Avery Koffer. In her first varsity game she accounted for 6 points, but it was her defensive effort and her ability to handle the basketball that made a huge impression. Plus, freshman Delaney Murphy contributed with key minutes to ignite a huge Covington lead.

With a win to start the season, the Lady Buccs look to keep the momentum rolling tomorrow night at Fairlawn.

SCORING BY QUARTERS:
COVINGTON – 17 – 19 – 18 – 1 = 55
HOUSTON – 9 – 4 – 6 – 2 = 23

COVINGTON SCORING:
Maggie Anderson – 16
Carlie Besecker – 15
Gracie Anderson – 11
Erika Gostomksy – 6
Avery Koffer – 6
Meg Rogers – 1

HOUSTON SCORING:
K. Maier – 11
T. Maxwell – 10
L. Crim – 2

THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS:
Covington – Gracie Anderson (3), Maggie Anderson (2), Carlie Besecker (1)
Houston – None