Second quarter surge propels Lady Chargers past Munford

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Some games are decided in a split second or on one shot.

Tuesday night’s District 13-AAA girls’ game in Munford between Covington and Munford was decided in the last three minutes of the second half.

With 3:01 left in the second quarter, the score was tied 11-11. Covington subsequently went on a 13-0 run, punctuated by a 3-pointer at the buzzer by NaKya Gilliam. Munford (7-10 overall, 2-1 district) never completely recovered in a 46-31 Covington win.

“We started off slow as a team but we finally picked up the pace after coach called a timeout and got on us,” said Covington forward CorTayza Flowers, who led all scorers with 24 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. “To get everybody involved there was huge.”

Glass called timeout when the score was tied at 11. Covington’s offense had been struggling, for sure. Flowers was the only player who scored for the Lady Chargers (13-8, 2-0) in the first quarter.

“We played okay,” Glass said. “I don’t think we were ever able to get into the flow of the game because we couldn’t stop fouling. We did enough to get a win.”

Covington’s second quarter run came with Munford’s best player, junior Brezia Cooper, on the bench with three fouls. When she returned to start the third quarter Munford gradually got back into the game.

Cooper’s 3-point play with 3:22 left in the third quarter cut Covington’s lead to nine points. When Abby Haun scored with 6:40 left in the game, Covington’s lead was just 27-23. Flowers came up with an and-one moments later to push the lead back to seven and Munford never really threatened again.

It’s been well documented that Covington lost its best three players from last year’s state tournament team. The Lady Chargers lost three of four games in late November/early December, but has won nine of 12 since and sits atop the district standings. They finished third in two holiday tournaments and have played a very challenging early season schedule.

“Every game we learn something new about ourselves,” Glass said. “It’s no secret that we’re rebuilding, but it’s not a bad rebuild. I think we’re doing a good job … We scheduled good teams early by design so we’re able to see what we need to do to get better.”