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Meredith Besecker drives to the basket for the Lady Buccs.
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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Covington
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11-0
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18-2
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Franklin Monroe
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7-1
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11-2
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Arcanum
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3-1
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7-3
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Tri-Village
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8-2
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11-8
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National Trail
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2-1
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5-2
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Twin Valley South
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2-1
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5-3
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Bradford
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1-2
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2-5
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Ansonia
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1-3
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2-7
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Bethel
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0-3
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2-5
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Mississinawa Valley
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0-3
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2-4
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Tri-County North
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0-3
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1-8
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Newton
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0-8
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0-13
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December 13, 2003 – COVINGTON
Covington coach Chris Besecker has every reason to smile. He is now a member of an elite coaching fraternity and his Lady Buccs are on a roll.
Coach Besecker was honored prior to today's showdown with Minster for his 200th win, which he accomplished last season. Then he watch his team win perhaps the biggest regular season game of his coaching career, a 43-39 thriller over the Lady Wildcats.
"This win is huge," said a delighted coach Besecker. "This is one of our biggest wins ever, even bigger than the Versailles win last week. Minster is really, really good and to beat a team like that is a great accomplishment."
On a day where their coach was on center stage, the Lady Buccs won by playing Besecker basketball…smothering defense and clutch free throw shooting.
Minster came to town with three dangerous offensive weapons in Kristen Shenk, Robyn Hoying and Karen Brackman. The trio had success at times, but in crunch time, the Lady Buccs shut them down.
Shenk was on fire in the first half, knocking down 19 points and four 3-pointers, one coming from half court at the buzzer to end the first half. The Lady Buccs made the adjustments at halftime and Shenk was held scoreless the rest of the way.
"We wanted to put MaryBeth Bayman on her in the first half because she was killing us," said Besecker. Unfortunately, she picked up two quick fouls and I didn't want to risk it that early in the game. We put Bayman and Shenk in the second half and she shut her down."
Robyn Hoying torched Fort Recovery for 25 points earlier in the week and the Lady Buccs contained her as well. Meredith Besecker stayed with Hoying one on one and held her to only 8 points.
"Meredith really played well against Hoying," complemented Besecker. "She contested every shot and didn't let her get position under the basket."
The third Minster weapon, Karen Brackman, was held to only 6 points and was never able to penetrate to the basket on a consistent basis.
"We had someone in her face the entire game," said Besecker. "Brackman worried me coming into the game, but we were able to keep her from penetrating. She didn't see many open looks."
The entire contest was tight throughout and neither team could gain much of an advantage on the scoreboard. Minster lead 15-12 after the first period as Shenk matched the entire Covington team in scoring with 12 in the stanza.
Minster increased their lead to 19-14 midway through the second period before Covington went on an 8-0 run to go up 22-19 with 2:18 left in the half. Shenk then canned a jumper to cut the Covington lead to 22-21 with 34 seconds left.
After a turnover on Covington's next possession, Shenk beat the clock with a 3-pointer from half court to give Minster a 24-22 halftime lead.
With Bayman containing Shenk in the second half, Michelle Meyer caught on fire. Meyer drilled 2 jumpers and a 3-pointer to give the Lady Buccs a 36-31 lead at the end of the third.
Minster wouldn't go away and managed to tie the score at 37-37 with 3:55 to go in the game. Heather Fields hit on a jumper from the baseline and then 2 free throws to give the Lady Buccs a 41-37 lead with 37 seconds left.
Meredith Besecker ended all matters with 2 more free throws to give Covington a 43-37 lead with 8 seconds remaining. Minster's Karen Brackman then ran the length of the floor uncontested for the final points of the contest as the Lady Buccs began their celebration at mid-court.
"This was a total team effort," concluded coach Besecker. "I'm so proud of the way the girls battled to the end. We hit some clutch free throws there in the end. This is a very big win."
Heather Fields paced the Lady Buccs with 15 points while Michelle Meyer dropped in 13 points. Meredith Besecker complemented her solid defensive performance with 8 points as well.
Covington improves to 6-0 on the season and host Tri-County North next Thursday.
Scoring by Quarters:
Buccs ...........12.....22....36......43
Wildcats ........15.....24....31......39
Covington Scoring:
Heather Fields – 15
Michelle Meyer – 13
Meredith Besecker – 8
MaryBeth Bayman – 5
Audrey Doseck – 2
Minster Scoring:
Kristen Shenk – 19
Robyn Hoying – 8
Karen Brackman – 6
Amy Kremer – 6
