Alyssa Angle looks for room to pass.

2007-08 BASKETBALL LINKS MEET THE 07-08 LADY BUCCS MEET THE 07-08 BUCCANEERS MEET THE 07-08 CHEERLEADERS 5TH & 6TH GRADE INTRAMURALS

2007-08 SCHEDULE 11/16/07 11/17/07 11/20/07 11/24/07 11/29/07 12/01/07 12/06/07 12/08/07 12/13/07 12/20/07 12/22/07 12/27/07 12/29/07 01/03/08 01/05/08 01/10/08 01/17/08 01/19/08 01/24/08 01/31/08 ------------- 02/11/08 02/14/08 02/16/08 @ Houston Fairlawn @ Newton @ Versailles Tri-Village Lehman @ Ansonia Bethel @Russia @ Miami East @ Milton Union National Trail @ New Bremen Tri-County North @ Twin Valley South @ Arcanum Bradford Jackson Center @ Franklin Monroe Mississinawa Valley SECTIONALS Arcanum Bethel Tri-Village 27-51 24-50 37-19 34-59 26-32 26-74 18-25 36-41 35-46 27-49 23-47 45-24 19-45 44-34 35-39 38-28 52-40 21-25 25-63 33-25 -------- 43-34 44-33 26-34 2007-08 CCC STANDINGS Team CCC ALL Miami East 11-0 17-0 Franklin Monroe 10-1 13-4 Tri-Village 8-3 12-5 Twin Valley South 8-4 12-7 Bethel 7-4 8-9 Arcanum 6-5 8-10 Ansonia 6-5 7-11 Tri-County North 6-5 8-8 Covington 6-6 6-14 Mississinawa Valley 2-9 3-15 National Trail 2-9 4-14 Newton 1-10 3-15 Bradford 1-10 2-15

Saturday, February 16, 2008
BROOKVILLE - After starting the season with a 1-10 record with a team without any seniors, nobody dreamed the Covington Lady Buccs would be playing for a sectional championship two months later.

But, the young team gradually showed signs of improvement in the second half of the regular season and finished with a 6-14 record and 5-5 in the Cross County Conference.

A 33-25 victory over Mississinawa Valley in the regular season finale gave Covington some confidence and after two straight tournament wins over Arcanum and Bethel the Lady Buccs found themselves in the Sectional Final.

"Nobody thought we'd be here," said Covington's Alyssa Angle. "We meshed together as a team and believed in each other. That's why we are here."

Unfortunately for Covington, it came up short in knocking off favored Tri-Village as the Patriots knocked down four free throws in the final minute to seal the 34-26 victory.

"Today's game is a snap shot of our season," said Covington coach Chris Besecker. "We played well defensively , but we struggled offensively. It lets us know where we stand as a team and what we need to improve on in the off-season."

In spite of its offensive struggles, Covington had its chances to steal a victory.

After leading 16-14 at the half, Tri-Village went on runs twice in the second half. The first was a 9-0 run to start the third quarter and then a 5-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to give the Patriots a 30-20 lead.

Covington fired right back with two straight treys by Kayla Fissel and Renee Otte on consecutive possessions to close the gap to 30-26 with under 2:00 to play.

But that was as close as Covington could get as it turned the ball over on its next two possessions and was forced to foul in the final minute.

Tri-Village made all four attempts to seal the victory.

"We played well enough defensively to win this game," Besecker said. "We just didn't hit the shots we needed and had some turnovers at bad times."

Still, Besecker is proud of how far his kids have come this season.

"I said this season wouldn't be measured in wins and losses," he said. "It's measured in how much we've improved. If you look at it in terms of improvement, we improved in every facet of the game. We still have a lot of room to grow, but we made strides and I'm proud of that."

Part of the learning process revolved around effort, which has been the identity of girls basketball at Covington for years.

"I told the seniors on last years team that their legacy would be how well the younger kids develop," Besecker said. "These kids learned how to work hard in practice and games from the girls we had last year. It's carried over."

The effort by Shelby Hoblit diving after a loose ball in the fourth quarter was evidence of that.

"That took be back to last year against Tipp City," described Besecker. "There was a loose ball that Shelby didn't even try to get too. The seniors chewed her out for not hustling. Tonight she lays out after a loose ball and nearly crashes into the bleachers. That's the type of effort that the kids from last year expected and these girls are now expecting of themselves."

The expectations for next year are higher now that the girls have tasted success and bitter disappointment in the same week.

"We're not satisfied," said Shelby Hoblit. "This (the tournament success) was fun, but we want to go farther next year. We'll have everyone back, so we better get to Vandalia next year."

For that to happen, Besecker knows his team must improve its shooting. Much of that improvement has to come in the off-season.

"Basketball players are made in the summer," he said. "Kids have to go out in the driveway or on the courts to become good shooters. Our goal will be to take it to the next level and we can't be satisfied with where we are now."

Where they are now is an 8-15 basketball team that came up short in the sectional finals.

The future, however, could be much brighter.

Scoring by Quarters:
Covington ..............8.......16......20......26
Tri-Village ..............5.......14......25......34

Covington Scoring:
Renee Otte - 18
Kayla Fissel - 6
Katie Dickey - 2

Tri-Village Scoring:
Jordyn Fisherback - 12
Kaila Burns - 9
Amelia Frazier - 8
Tina Allison - 5

Three-Point Scoring:
Covington: Fissel (2), Otte (1)
Tri-Village: Burns (3)