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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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March 1, 2004 – TIPP CITY
The Covington girls basketball team made their point Monday night at Tipp City High School.
By making it nearly impossible for Jefferson to score any.
The Lady Buccs would have had to have been almost illiterate to not know what was at stake against the Lady Broncos in a Division IV sectional final. First, there was the fact that Jefferson finished the season ranked third in Division IV in the final state poll and Covington was ninth. Then there was all the talk about how unfair it was that the Lady Buccs got the first seed and Jefferson, unbeaten at the time, received the second seed.
Monday's 48-27 thrashing of the Lady Broncos should answer all the questions.
Covington will now play Southeastern at 4:15 p.m. Saturday at the Vandalia Student Activities Center.
"Did we have something to prove?" Covington senior MaryBeth Bayman, who held Buckeye Metro Conference Player of the Year Leshea Orr to one field goal, said. "Absolutely. People have been talking about this game for a long time. Jefferson's coach (Jonas Smith) had been saying a lot things. It was time for us to do something about it."
The Buccs did that at both ends of the floor. With Heather Fields making three straight threes and Bayman adding one, the Lady Buccs to a 16-5 lead after one quarter and Covington's swarming defense took care of the rest.
While the Buccs scored just two points in the second quarter, they led 18-9 at the break and stretched it to 32-15 after three quarters.
"I thought the 3-point shots were a real key," Covington coach Chris Besecker said. "It forced Jefferson out of the box-and-one on Michelle (Meyer) and opened things up for us."
Not that anything worth winning comes easy. Jefferson's defense made things tough for the Buccs throughout the game.
"It was a battle," Meyer said. "Not just physical, but mental. They tried to get in our heads, but we just brushed it off."
But, Jefferson's defense was no match for the Buccs "D". A Broncos team that came in averaging 66 points a game had just six field goals and 15 points at the end of the third quarter.
And while Covington had just three players score, that doesn't really tell the story. Against a bigger, supposedly more athletic Jefferson squad, Meyer and posts Meredith Besecker and Audrey Doseck frustrated the Broncos, outrebounding them 32-24.
"We wanted to front (Ashley) Williamson and play behind Leshae (Orr)," Besecker said. "I thought the kids did a great job."
The play off the bench of Caitlin Sargent and Mandy Kuharik can not be overlooked. The two combined for seven rebounds.
"Our bench played great," Besecker said. "There is no doubt Caitlin (Sargent) is playing her best basketball right now and Mandy (Kuharik) had a good game."
Fields led the Buccs with 22 points, five steals and four rebounds. Meyer added 14 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, while Bayman had 12 points and four steals. Besecker pulled down eight rebounds to help out the cause.
Covington finished 12 of 42 from the floor for 29 percent and 20 of 25 from the line for 80 percent, including 14 of 18 in the fourth quarter.
Jefferson, who had to play the last seven seconds with four players, was nine of 42 from the floor for 21 percent and seven of 14 from the line for 50 percent.
Jefferson had 19 turnovers to the Lady Buccs 17.
As time ran down in the final 30 seconds, the large throng of the Lady Buccs supporters rose to their feet and applauded their team's performance.
"Our crowd is great," Meyer said. "It is great the way they come out and support us. When they want it, we want it. It was really sweet at the end. Definitely, we had something to prove."
Point made.
by Rob Kiser – Piqua Daily Call
BOXSCORE
Covington Scoring (48)
M. Meyer 4-6-14, Fields 5-9-22, Bayman 3-5-12, Doseck 0-0-0, Besecker 0-0-0, Sargent 0-0-0, Kuharik 0-0-0, Furrow 0-0-0, Christian 0-0-0, A. Meyer 0-0-0, Plank 0-0-0. Totals: 12-20-48.
Jefferson (27)
Williamson 1-2-4, Orr 1-3-5, Buckman 3-0-7, Carpenter 4-0-9, Walker 0-2-2, Brown 0-0-0, Jackson 0-0-0, Frey 0-0-0. Totals: 9-7-27.
3-point field goals – Covington: Fields (3), Bayman. Jefferson: Buckman, Carpenter.
Score by quarters
Covington......16....18....32....48
Jefferson.........5......9....15....27
Records:
Covington 21-2, Jefferson 21-2.
Defense The Key...
The Jefferson girls basketball team came into tonight's sectional final against Covington averaging 66 points a game. The Lady Broncose were also 21-1 and ranked third in the final D-IV state poll. Coach Jonas Smith was on the radio Monday afternoon talking about the advantage his team had because of its balanced scoring.
So how surpising was it to see Covington's defense completely stifle and frustrate the high-powered Lady Broncos offense, limiting them to 15 points in the first three quarters.
That depends who you talk to.
No surprise at all if you ask Covington senior guard Heather Fields.
"Definitely, I thought we could shut them down like that," Fields said. "No question about it. We knew they hadn't seen a defense like we play. It doesn't surprise me at all."
Senior MaryBeth Bayman wouldn't go that far.
"We certainly hoped we could do that," Bayman said. "You never know what is going to happen, but we thought we could."
Sophomore Michelle Meyer was even more humble.
"No, not at all," Meyer said about the Broncos having 15 points after three quarters. "But, we just did a good job on each of their scorers."
Covington coach Chris Besecker was in the Meyer camp when it came to stopping Jefferson.
"To be honest, I thought Jefferson would have 20 points at halftime," Besecker said. "The kids just did a great job and got after it."
Make no mistake...to do what Covington did to Jefferson took every girl on team playing outstanding defense. But, be just as sure when it comes to Covington's defense, there is no stopper like Bayman.
Bayman, 5-foot-6, was matched up with Jefferson 6-foot junior LeShea Orr, the Metro Buckeye Conference Player of the Year. It was no contest. The girl who would like nothing better than to play 32 minutes of defense, schooled the MBC's best.
"The defense is the key for us," Bayman said. "And when we made those shots (four 3-point field goals in the first quarter) that just pumped us up and raised our intensity on defense."
You don't have to tell Besecker about Bayman's defense.
"She is so focused," Besecker said. "There is no question...of all the girls I have coached, she is the best on defense. All four of our seniors are really focused."
And for Jefferson, there was no defense for that.
by Rob Kiser – Piqua Daily Call
Emotional Leader...
You can use any number of terms to describe the importance of senior guard Heather Fields to the Covington girls basketball team in any numbers of ways.
You can call her their emotional leader...the straw that stirs the drink...the heart and soul of the Lady Buccs.
All would be accurate and never was it more clear than on the Tipp City High School hardwood Monday night in the Lady Buccs 48-27 victory over Jefferson.
The Lady Broncos had made it clear in the past several weeks that they didn't believe Covington should have received the top seed in the sectional. Fields, like her teammates, had something to prove Monday.
"Definitely," she said. "They had made a big deal about it and were doing a lot of talking."
On this night, Fields play did all the talking for her. It started with hitting three straight 3-point field goals midway through the first quarter to opene up a nine-point lead Covington would never relinquish.
I was like, Oh Yeah," Fields said about each of the 3-point field goals. "It was an emotional game."
That became clear late in the first half when Fields was frustrated after a questionable charging call became her third foul and let it be known.
"Heather is an emotional player," Covington coach Chris Besecker said. "She does a great job. But, there were a couple times tonight where she was too emotional."
Fields understood that and was a different player coming out of the locker room.
"My teammates all came up to me at halftime," Fields said. "They came up to me and supported me and told me they were with me."
Fields, who played the second half without a foul, would not be denied. Displaying the toughness of a middle linebacker, something Fields has done all season, she couldn't be stopped. Not when she had to be helped from the floor in the third quarter...not when Jefferson continually tried to engage her in trash talk.
Fields answered with some nearly flawless free throw shooting in the fourth quarter. Making seven of eight and finishing nine of 10 for the game from the line. After nearly every made free throw, Fields would pump her first.
"They were doing a lot of trash talking," Fields said. "I wasn't trash talking because I had three fouls. But, they couldn't stop me from celebrating after making a free throw. It was like, Oh Yeah."
While Fields was clearly in pain in the fourth quarter, bent over at every dead ball, she wasn't about to come out. At one point, she sank a free throw for her 21st point...and a quick glance at the scoreboard showed Jefferson had 20.
"But, it wasn't just me," Fields said. "It was the whole team. All my teammates played great tonight."
But, Fields importance could not be overlooked.
She was Covington's press breaker as Jefferson quickly learned. She had five steals and four rebounds while leading the Buccs with 22 points. Whenever Covington got out of sync on the floor, Fields took charge.
And it should come as no surprise, it was Fields from her position on the wing, leading the Covington fans in cheers as the final 30 seconds ticked off the clock.
"This was really sweet," Fields said about the win. "Our fans are so great. It was great that so many of them were here. We really appreciate our fans."
Which is matched by their appreciation of the Lady Buccs and Fields.
by Rob Kiser – Piqua Daily Call
