MARYVILLE – It was a battle of the Scots in the Cooper Athletic Center as Maryville (7-9, 5-3 CC) defeated Covenant (4-11, 1-5 CCS) 55-43 here Tuesday night.
 
With the victory, Maryville has now won three straight games in just four days, extending its longest winning streak of the season.
 
It was a tough day for the MC offense but Maryville more than made up for it with a strong defensive effort, specifically in the fourth quarter where they held Covenant Scoreless for the first 8 minutes and 17 seconds before Lucy Benson hit a three-pointer with 1:43 remaining.
 
Maryville finished the contest with eight steals and two blocks. Kadence Stoner and Ellas Tharpe led MC with two steals each while Stoner and Courtney Carruthers each picked up a block. Maryville scored 17 points off turnovers compared to just 10 from Covenant.


 
"We defended the entire time," Maryville head coach Darrin Travillian said. "We played three different defenses today and held them to 43 for the game. I felt pretty good about that. If you hold somebody to 43 you've got a pretty good chance to win."
 
Maryville stumbled out of the gate, shooting 2-of-17 from the field in the first quarter while scoring just four points. Heading into the second Maryville trailed Covenant 11-4.
 
MC fought back slowly at first, winning the second quarter 13-10 and the third quarter 15-12 before exploding in the fourth with a 23-10 burst across the final 10 minutes of play.
 
Maryville entered the fourth quarter down by one point, 33-32. it picked up its first lead of the night with 9:05 remaining after a layup from sophomore forward Olivia Cathers, which kicked off a 15-0 run over the next seven minutes of play.
 
In contrast with Maryville's tough first quarter, the Scots were 5-of-12 (41.7%) from the field in the 10 final 10 minutes of play.
 
"Offensively we finally loosened up a little bit to start the fourth quarter," Travillian said. "My big thing in the third quarter was to win the quarter, whatever it takes. I don't care by how much."
 
"Now you're down to a one-possession game in the fourth and we came out in the first two minutes, took the lead, and never relinquished it."


 
Maryville scored 12 of its 23 fourth-quarter points at the free throw line, shooting 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. MC finished the contest 18-of-22 (81.8%) from the line and is now 50-of-60 (83.3%) during its three-game winning streak.
 
Reigning CCS Player of the Week Carruthers led Maryville with 14 points and a team-high six rebounds. Right behind her was CCS Rookie of the Week Emily Allen who finished with 12 points and a team-high four assists.  Ella Haney rounded out the double-digit scorers for Maryville, adding 11 points in 28 minutes of play.


 
After Playing three games in four days, Maryville has a few off days before continuing forth with their tough conference schedule on Friday.
 
"Tomorrow, we need a day off," Travillian joked. "The girls are going to take the day off, I'm going to take the day off, and then we're going to bounce back and were going to get to work to go back on the road this weekend."
 
Maryville faces off against Agnes Scott on Friday and Wesleyan on Saturday. Friday tips off at 5 p.m. while Saturday starts at 2 p.m.