COVINGTON — The Covington Lady Buccs built a commanding first-half lead and never looked back, rolling past the Franklin Monroe Lady Jets 47-16 in opening-round play of the Buccaneers Holiday Classic.
Covington took control early, using a stifling defensive effort and hot shooting to open up a 34-6 advantage over the first two quarters on its way to the non-conference holiday victory.
“We had a very bad practice on Saturday,” said Franklin Monroe coach Carrie Wood. “I told them we were going to come out and play like that, and we played exactly how we practiced.”
The Lady Jets struggled to protect the basketball, committing multiple turnovers that Covington quickly turned into points. At the other end, the Lady Buccs found a rhythm offensively, converting the majority of their scoring opportunities and digging a hole Franklin Monroe was unable to climb out of.
“You’re going to have games like that where the opponent just can’t miss,” Wood said. “That’s where we have to step up, know where the shooters are, and talk defensively — and we did not do that in the first half.”
Covington claimed each of the opening two quarters by identical 17-3 margins, heading into halftime with a comfortable 34-6 lead.
The pace slowed after the break, as scoring became harder to come by for both teams. Covington edged the Lady Jets 6-4 in the third quarter and closed out the game with a 7-6 fourth quarter to seal the 47-16 win.
