Cove Lady Dawgs overwhelm Waco Lady Lions 67-35

By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press

Nursing a single-digit first-half lead against Waco on Tuesday, the Copperas Cove Lady Dawgs exploded on an 28-3 run in the third quarter to take a dominant 55-22 lead into the final period. 
“We were just being lazy at both ends of the court,” Copperas Cove girls’ head basketball coach Eldridge McAdams said after the win. “I told them you can’t just play defense with your hands, you have to move your feet. Once they made that adjustment, we just started playing. 
“I think we feed off our defense so, once that defense gets rolling, we get going.”
A layup by junior Leah Powell along with a three-pointer and a free throw by junior Madisen “MJ” Honea pushed Cove’s lead to 15, 33-18, with 7:01 left in the third.
“In the first half I think we were 9 for 30 from the paint and we were missing free throws,” said McAdams. “Things weren’t falling so we had to adjust. We kind of feed off the shots. If the shots start falling, then the girls feed off that. MJ came out and hit that three and we got a steal and went from there.”
A three-pointer off glass by senior Madison Griffon, two free throws by Powell and another three-pointer by senior Jayda Carter quickly pushed Cove’s lead to 21, 41-19, with 5:19 left in the quarter. 
A basket by junior Umya Davis briefly halted the run, but perfect trips to the charity stripe by junior Deja Chapman and sophomore Jasmine Sankey, baskets by Carter and Honea and a three-pointer by junior Tiana Barker closed out the Cove run. 
A free throw each by Carter and Griffon and a streaking basket by Griffon gave Cove their largest lead of the night at 37, 59-22, with 5:39 left to play. 
“We had to talk about what we did wrong and need to improve on,” Carter said of the halftime adjustments. “Our energy was one thing we didn’t have in the first half. Once we get our energy going and push each other, that’s when we play our best.”
A pair of baskets, a free throw and a three-pointer by Davis cut the Cove lead to 35, 65-30, before a shot off glass by Chapman closed out Cove’s scoring at 67. 
Last minute baskets by Waco sophomore Ke’Turah King and freshman Shaviante Cobb closed out Waco’s scoring for the 67-35 final. 
“It is definitely good when you can get a win,” said McAdams. “Waco never gave up and they played hard.”
Carter had a team-high 13 points and hauled in seven rebounds while Leah Powell notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Honea (8), Chapman (8), junior Kaysha McCloud (7), Griffon (6), Barker (6) Sankey (4) and senior Chyla Johnson (3) closed out the scoring for Cove. 
Senior Montierra Warren led the Lady Lions with 11 points followed by Davis with nine and King with six. 
The Lady Dawgs’ junior varsity beat Waco 50-19. Livonna Wallace had 11 points to lead Cove while Keana Garrett added nine points, eight rebounds, and four steals.
The freshman Lady Dawgs also defeated Waco, 64-26. Kyra Gaston led with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Samaria Bostick added 10 points; Jordan McGhee had nine.
The Lady Dawgs return to action in the first game of a varsity double-header at Waco Midway. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. with the varsity boys to follow.