Dateline – Roswell, Ga.: In a renewal of the Georgia 400 rivalry, the Lady Rams of Covenant Christian Academy made the trip to the friendly confines of the Cougar Center to do basketball battle with the Lady Cougars.
Determined to write a new storyline for this game, the Lady Cougars broke with tradition and engaged their offense like a well-oiled machine en route to their most productive quarter of the year by posting 15 first period points. Sophomore Alyssa Briggs exploded for 9 points – stinging the visitors with a three ball, foul shots, conventional jumpers, and a drive to the basket. Defensive pressure also served to generate turnovers and generally short circuit the Ram’s attack. Perhaps enjoying the offensive fireworks a little too much, the second quarter witnesses a sea change in tempo and execution as both teams only netted six points each. Hurried execution severely compromised the TCS efforts, but fortunately staunch rebounding prevented the visitors from taking full advantage of the “lost quarter.”
After a halftime re-set, the Lady Cougars approached the second half with much more purpose and focus. The third period proved decisive as TCS threw a blanket over CCA, limiting them to only 2 points over the eight minute span. Junior Ana Mills picked up from where she left off Wednesday evening, stepping into the offense as she punched in 6 of her team’s 10 points. In the penultimate quarter of play, unfamiliar lineups and combinations gave players experience in old and new positions, but the experimentation undoubtedly cut into offensive efficiency. However, the Lady Cougars seemed to catch the Dr. Strangelovian contagion brought by TCS alumni Alex “Dr. Stangelove” Nebel, who took statistics from the bench. Biggs drained two long distance bombs, while Junior Lillian Travis snaped the nets for a trifecta of her own. Again, Julia McCauley delivered the knife to the ribs with another short jumper just inside the foul line, assisted by a hard charging Briggs.
As the clock struck 0:00 the scoreboard revealed a 42 – 18 victory for the Lady Cougars. The team takes to the road on the big stage at State Farm Arena Sunday afternoon as they renew their rivalry with their Atlanta Athletic Conference nemesis, The Howard School Hawks.
GAME NOTES
More players equals a deeper bench, which also results in a longer post-game write up! Senior Anika Helm filled backup center duty, and did not waste a minute. She banked home a first period goal, grabbed 10 rebounds (including a had to see it to believe it 8 from the offensive glass), 3 steals, and her obligatory monster blocked shot. Hannah Katz saw action across all quarters and operated both the front and back end of the zone. Katz corralled 2 rebounds and gained a steal. Emily Stoddert made her Varsity debut, picking up first and second half minutes. Stoddert yanked down a pair of boards, had a couple of good looks and the basket, and matched up well against low post offensive players. In her second game, fellow freshman Julia McCauley mixed it up underneath to claim 4 rebounds (3 offensive), chip in an assist, and score 2 points.
Fresh off of her offensive barrage against ASD, Mills again assumed point forward duties. She reached double digits with 10 points, but also demonstrated versatility with 6 rebounds (1 offensive), 3 blocked shots, 3 steals, and 1 assist.
Celeste Jeoffroy controlled the paint on this evening, scoring 4 points, passing for an assist, hauling in 5 boards, and stealing 3 balls.
Freshman Finely Love gained her first start of the season, using her quick hands to thieve the ball 3 times, while also gaining 2 offensive rebounds.
Lillian Travis nailed the three pointer described in the game story, while also playing harassing defense, and rounding up 2 rebounds.
Alyssa Briggs provided the offensive firepower on this night, burning the nets for 21 points, including three three pointers. Biggs also stepped up the passing game as evidenced by her 5 assists. She rounded out her gem of a stat line with 10 rebounds (5 offensive), and 3 steals.
