Lady Charger Felia Fayne tries to get off a shot despite the efforts of Lady Cardinals Cor’Tayza Flowers and Talea Taylor. Photo by David Perry
The Covington-Brighton girls’ game Tuesday night in Covington gave the appearance no one wanted it throughout the first half.
Brighton and Covington combined 24 points before things picked up a bit in the final two frames as the Lady Chargers (7-2) pulled away for a 47-35 win which handed the Lady Cardinals (6-1) their first defeat of the season.
Albanie Dunn gave Brighton a 1-0 lead at the 5-minute mark. The Lady Chargers took a 2-1 lead on a pair of Felia Fayne free throws at 3:59. Brighton’s Sylvia Jones hit the game’s first basket from the floor at 2:09 for a 3-2 Lady Cardinal lead.
It was their last.
Brinley Cousar and Kalynn Howard drilled 3-pointers late to put CHS up 8-3. At the half, Covington led 16-8.
The Lady Charger offense showed some life in the third period.
Shamya Butler, Howard and Cousar drained 3-pointers, sending Covington to the fourth ahead 31-20.
Howard popped a pair from long range in the final quarter to round out her game-high 16 points. Fayne pounded the boards, coming up with 13 paint points. Cousar added a third bomb in the fourth for 9 points.
Jones was dogged by the CHS offense all night but she managed to lead her team with 15 points. Dunn added 10.
Neither team rebounded or shot the ball well from the floor. Covington was tagged with 20 turnovers to Brighton’s 13. The Lady Cardinals made 8 of 12 free throws and CHS 5 of 8.
The boys’ game was never close. The Chargers (5-2) scored the first 17 points of the game, leading to their 83-49 win over Brighton (3-3).
Ladarius Taylor finally put the Cardinals on the board with a layup at the 3:07 mark of the first quarter, which ended with CHS ahead 24-7. Covington put 25 on the board in the second, taking a 49-19 lead to the locker room.
Brighton came unraveled in the third period hounded by an aggressive Charger defensive effort. The Cardinals recorded 13 of their 23 turnovers in the frame and fell behind by 71-35 entering the fourth, triggering a running clock.
The Cardinals’ Anthony Smith was the bright spot on offense, scoring a game-best 20 points. Taylor hit a pair of second-half 3-pointers to finish with 11. Jabari Weathers had six points on two from deep. BHS was 1 of 7 at the line.
Covington spread the scoring amongst 12 players. Tyjuan Smith and Devin Dean tied for team-high honors with 15 points. Travontae Powell had 13, including 11 in the first half.
Brandon Alston, who brought the house down with three thunderous first-half dunks, finished with 12. Covington committed 16 turnovers and connected on 7 of 10 at the stripe.
Covington hosts back-to-back district games with Haywood in town on Friday and Millington on Tuesday. Brighton plays a non-district road game against Ripley on Friday.
in other action:
• The Covington Lady Chargers improved to 6-2 on the young season with a pair of wins over Gleason at Martin Westview on Dec. 6, 53-39, and over Union City 49-46 the following night.
In the Gleason game, Covington jumped out to an 11-point lead after one period, 19-8, and were not challenged the rest of the way. Fayne had her best night of the year, leading all scorers with 24 points. Howard reached double figures with 11.
Saturday’s home opener over the Union City Lady Golden Tornadoes was a low-scoring, see-saw affair that saw several lead changes.
Covington won the opening stanza, 12-11, but was bested by Union City (5-2) in the second, falling behind 25-23 at the break. The Lady Chargers outscored UC by 5 after the half to pull out the win.
Howard paced Covington with 13 points followed by Fayne’s 10. Na’Kya Gilliam had her best game to date with nine points. .
• The Chargers made short work of South Fulton, 86-46, on Dec. 6 at Martin Westview before dropping Union City 66-44 on Dec. 7 to run their season slate to 4-2. Putting up three consecutive quarters of 20+ points, Covington made 9 from long range to overwhelm South Fulton (1-4). The Red Devils got 20 points from Bobby Brown, who earned game high scoring honors.
Covington had a more balanced scoring night with five players in double figures and 11 getting into the score book overall. Brandon Alston’s 15 points led the Chargers. Tyjuan Smith had 14, Travontae Powell 13, Tyric Winfrey 12 and Devin Dean 11.
In the home opener against Union City (4-4) on Dec. 7, the Chargers saw a 13-point lead at the half shrink to 10 at the end of three periods prior to a 25-13 explosion in the final frame that put the game out of reach.
Brandon Alston took the lead for CHS with a season-high 23 points. TyJuan Smith had a season-high 19 points.
