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| Andrea Meyer battled to get her shot off and finished with a game-high 17 points. |
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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Miami East
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12-0
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17-3
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Covington
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11-1
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17-3
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Arcanum
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9-3
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12-8
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Franklin Monroe
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8-4
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10-9
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Tri-County North
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8-4
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12-8
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Bethel
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7-5
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8-11
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Mississinawa Valley
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6-6
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10-9
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Tri-Village
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4-7
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9-10
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Ansonia
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4-8
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6-13
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Twin Valley South
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2-9
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6-13
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Newton
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2-10
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3-17
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Bradford
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1-10
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3-16
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| National Trail |
1-10 |
2-17 |
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March 8, 2007 – VANDALIA
They may not be the biggest, fastest, or the strongest - but they have the biggest hearts. That's probably the best way to describe the Covington Lady Buccs' basketball team.
In spite of a 42-31 defeat, the Covington Lady Buccs showed the heart of a champion Thursday in the Regional Semifinal against New Knoxville at Vandalia Butler High School.
"This year is the most fun I've had coaching basketball," said a proud Covington coach Chris Besecker. "Tonight's effort - what can I say? It's what this team is all about."
The loss ends Covington's season at 21-4 and ends the careers of five seniors who have accomplished things no other class in school history can touch. The 2006-07 seniors consisting of Andrea Meyer, Ashley Johnson, Alex Christian, Chelsea Tebbe and LauriKate Bayman is the first class to be a part of four straight 20-win seasons.
"I think that's a huge accomplishment," said Ashley Johnson. "Over the last four years we accomplished a lot and we did it together."
Fellow senior Andrea Meyer agreed.
"We worked hard every year to be the best we could be," Meyer said with tears in her eyes. "It's a good feeling to think about all we have accomplished. We did it together and that's what we'll always remember."
Covington came into the contest less than full strength. Already suffering from a lack of experience off the bench, the Lady Buccs' only experienced bench player in sophomore Renee Otte was out of action due to a knee injury suffered earlier in the week.
"We knew coming in we were under the gun," said Besecker. "Renee brings a lot of athleticism and defensive effort to the floor and not having her hurt. But the seniors stepped up and played their hearts out."
They sure did.
In spite of giving up a significant size and depth advantage to a very talented New Knoxville team, the five seniors stayed in the game because of their will to compete.
In a fierce defensive battle, New Knoxville managed to build a 10-4 lead at the end of the first period thanks to eight points by junior Brooke Niemeyer.
Covington closed the gap to 10-9 to open the second stanza on a three-pointer by Ashley Johnson and a LauriKate Bayman jumper.
But that would be the only points Covington would get over the remainder of the half as New Knoxville's defense began to wear down the Buccaneer shooters.
Andrea Meyer, who scored Covington's only points in the first period, was held scoreless in the second as the Lady Rangers smothered her and wouldn't allow her to get any open looks at the baskets.
New Knoxville took advantage of Covington's 6:30 scoreless slump and pushed its lead to 21-9 at the half by making a pair of baskets and 7 of 8 free throws.
To make matters worse, Covington's depth issues were magnified as Chelsea Tebbe picked up her third foul and Alex Christian had two at the half.
"We got into some foul trouble and that's the last thing we needed," said Besecker. "We were getting fatigued and that attributed to some of the fouls because we were reaching instead of moving our feet."
In foul trouble and struggling from the field, Covington needed a spark. They received it in the locker room from someone who's been in the same situation. Lady Buccs' assistant coach Lynette Roeth, Covington's all-time leading scorer, reminded the seniors of the importance of leaving their best effort on the floor.
"Lynette pulled the seniors aside and told us to give it all we got in the second half," explained Andrea Meyer. "She reminded us that this could be our last game and if we were going to go out, we should go out knowing we gave everything we had. We took it to heart."
The Lady Buccs were a different team when they returned to the floor in the second half.
Ashley Johnson immediately drilled a trey and Meyer scored on a runner to respond to a Nicole Wright basket.
Later, Meyer nailed a trey of her own and converted a steal into a lay-up to cut the margin to 28-20 with just seconds left in the third.
Looking for a big defensive stop, Covington was burned by a circus reverse lay-up by Alycia Niemeyer to close out the frame with New Knoxville holding a 30-20 lead.
"They were really defending Andrea hard and making it difficult for her to get into open space," Besecker described. "But Andrea kept working and working and was able to find a way to hit some shots."
Behind suffocating defense and the determination on Meyer on the offensive end, the Lady Buccs managed to close the gap to 37-31 with 1:24 left in the contest.
With time a factor, the Lady Buccs attempted to extend the game by fouling and sending the Lady Rangers to the free throw line.
The strategy appeared to be working as New Knoxville missed on two straight front ends of one-and-ones, but Covington wasn't able to capitalize on the offensive end of the floor.
Time continued to tick away as Covington continued to send the Lady Rangers to the line. New Knoxville knocked down five of its final six free throws to escape with a 42-31 win.
"The girls worked so hard and were dead tired at the end," Besecker said. "Considering Andrea and Ashley played all 32 minutes and Alex, Chelsea and LauriKate only got a minute or two of rest, the girls left it all on the floor. I'm so proud of them."
Perhaps the most telling statistic on the contest was the fact that New Knoxville went to the free throw line for 21 attempts and converted on 17 of those. Covington managed to only get to the line three times, making five of six attempts.
In her final game of her high school career, Andrea Meyer led all players with a game-high 17 points. Meyer also leaves as the school's top three-point scorer with 138 career treys.
Ashley Johnson closed out her high school career with a nine-point effort on three treys. Johnson has knocked down 105 three-pointers in her career.
But it won't be the individual accomplishments the girls will talk about when they have children or when they get together 20 years down the line. Instead, it will be about what they did as a team.
"We're a group that never gave up," Ashley said in regards to what she'll tell her children someday. "People underestimated us, but we always rose to the occasion and gave everything we had. That's how I want us to be remembered."
Meyer also expressed how the girls overcame expectations.
"Nobody ever expected us to get this far," explained Meyer. "Whenever we get together, we'll always remember what we did. We worked very hard and we did it all together."
The bond the five seniors developed while growing up and playing together is a bond that will last forever.
"They (the other four seniors) are my best friends," Meyer continued. "I couldn't have picked a better group of girls to play basketball with. We'll remember what we did together and look back on it with pride."
Accomplishing four straight 20-win seasons and capturing two district titles is something to be very proud of. But the senior season is tops on the list for Johnson.
"The best memories I'll take with me are from my senior year," said Johnson. "Getting a district championship with four of my best friends in our senior year is special. It's amazing how fast it goes."
It did go fast and it's too bad more people from Covington didn't get to see them play. They were fun to watch.
Scoring by Quarters:
Covington .....................4.........9.........20..........31
New Knoxville ..............10.......21.........30..........42
Covington Scoring:
Andrea Meyer - 17
Ashley Johnson - 9
Chelsea Tebbe - 2
LauriKate Bayman - 2
Chelsea Tebbe - 2
Alex Christian - 1
New Knoxville Scoring:
Brooke Niemeyer - 13
Nicole Wright - 11
Alycia Niemeyer - 10
Haley Kruse - 4
Casey Horstman - 2
Meredith Fleddejohannn - 2
Three-Point Scoring:
Covington: Ashley Johnson (3), Andrea Meyer (1)
New Knoxville: Nicole Wright (1)
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