JACKSON CENTER – Tuesday’s contest at Jackson Center wasn’t the start in the new year Covington was hoping for as the Lady Buccs hurt themselves with uncharacteristic mistakes that led to a 45-38 defeat.

“We made some mistakes we haven’t made in a month,” said Covington coach Shawn Naff. “We didn’t deal with the man-to-man pressure well in the half court.”

Covington committed 13 turnovers on the night, but managed to stay in contention due to a great defensive effort.

“We played amazing defense tonight,” said Naff. “We forced turnovers and had a a lot of steals.”

The Lady Buccs trailed 10-9 after one, 19-18 at the break and by only three points (30-27) heading into the final frame.

Unfortunately the Lady Buccs couldn’t get over the hump in the fourth despite Gracie Anderson scoring nine of her 11 points in the final period.

Throughout the first three periods it was Maggie Anderson who led the Lady Buccs as she scored 13 of the 27 points to keep Covington within striking distance. She finished with 13 points on the night.

Carlie Besecker and Avery Koffer had seven points each.

The Lady Buccs fall to 8-6 on the season and will host Troy Christian on Saturday in TRC play.

“We will need to play with more energy on Saturday against Troy Christian,” said Naff.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Covington – 9 – 9 – 9 – 11 = 38
Jackson Center – 10 – 9 – 11 – 15 = 45

COVINGTON SCORING:
Maggie Anderson – 13
Gracie Anderson – 11
Avery Koffer – 7
Carlie Besecker – 7

JACKSON CENTER SCORING:
P. Reese – 18
M. Reichert – 12
A. Biederman – 5
K. Reese – 4
M. Kloppenstein – 4
G. Prenger – 2

THREE-POINT SCORING:
Covington – Gracie Anderson (1), Maggie Anderson (1)
Jackson Center – P. Reese (2), A. Biederman (1)