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Senior, Caitlin Sargent battles on the inside against Xenia Christian.
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Senior, Tara (Tink) Plank looks for an open teammate in the District Finals.
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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Franklin Monroe
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11-0
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15-5
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Covington
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10-1
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20-4
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Tri-Village
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9-2
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16-5
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Arcanum
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8-3
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17-4
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Mississinawa Valley
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7-4
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10-11
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Twin Valley South
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6-5
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9-11
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National Trail
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4-6
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7-11
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Bradford
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3-8
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7-11
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Ansonia
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3-8
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4-15
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Bethel
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2-7
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5-12
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Tri-County North
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1-9
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3-15
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Newton
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0-10
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0-19
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FEBRUARY 26, 2005 – VANDALIA
By Rob Kiser, Piqua Daily Call
Covington girls basketball coach Chris Besecker could deal with the losing. There is no shame in having a season that far exceeded expectations ending in the a Division IV district final loss to the third-ranked team in the state.
Sure he would have liked the score to have been closer than 48-20 against Xenia Christian Saturday. But, the really tough part for Besecker was realizing it was the final game he would coach seniors Mandy Kuharik, Tara Plank and Caitlin Sargent.
"Yes, we have a good group of kids coming back next year," Besecker said. "But, when you lose three girls like that...they have been part of the program for four years. They become like family. That is the tough part."
As for the game itself, Covington played as well as Besecker ever could have hoped defensively. But, the 6-2 Frazee triplets were just too much to overcome at the offensive end for Covington.
While they combined for 46 of the Ambassadors 48 points, it was on defense where they really created problems for the Lady Buccs. Their long reach forced Covington into a 1-for-17 shooting effort in the first half and the Buccs trailed 21-4 at the break.
"I really thought we would be able to get some good looks on offense," Besecker said. "But, they just cover so much ground. We just couldn't get any kind of looks. We couldn't attack the basket. And that is a big part of our game. Going to the basket and getting to the line (when they are fouled). We couldn't do that today."
Covington continued to play well on defense in the second half, but could never score enough points to catch up.
"We don't play man that well," Besecker said. "But, the kids went out there and did a great job. They got after it. If you tell me Xenia Christian was only going to score 48 points, I would have felt great."
Michelle Meyer led Covington with eight points and Kuharik added six. Caitlin Sargent and Chelsea Tebbe each had five rebounds.
Megan Frazee had 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead Xenia Christian. Moriah Frazee scored 16 points and Molly Frazee pulled down 10 rebounds.
Covington was seven of 37 from the floor for 19 percent and six of 12 from the line for 50 percent.
Xenia Christian was 19 of 33 from the floor for 58 percent and 10 of 12 from the line for 83 percent.
Xenia Christian won the battle of the boards 32-13 and had 10 turnovers to Covington's seven.
After an impressive 20-win season for a young Covington team, the future looks bright.
"The girls that didn't play down here last year were down here watching," Besecker said. "There is no question this team went far beyond expectations. Nobody expected 20 wins or playing in the district finals. Success breeds success."
Which means another trip to the district finals can't be far off.
BOXSCORE
Covington (20)
Kuharik 3-0-6, Johnson 1-1-3, M. Meyer 3-2-8, Sargent 0-0-0, A. Christian 0-2-2,
A. Meyer 0-0-0, Tebbe 0-0-0, Barhorst 0-0-0, Plank 0-0-0, Bayman 0-1-1, E. Christian 0-0-0, Sprankle 0-0-0. Totals: 7-6-20.
Xenia Christian (48)
Runkle 0-0-0, A. Hughes 0-0-0, Moriah Frazee 7-2-16, Megan Frazee 9-8-26,
Molly Frazee 2-0-4, M. Hughes 1-0-2, Carter 0-0-0, Spitzmiller 0-0-0, Sangregory 0-0-0, Martin 0-0-0. Totals: 19-10-48.
Score by quarters:
Covington .............1.......4......13......20
Xenia Christian ....9....21......31......48
Records: Covington 20-4, Xenia Christian 23-1.
