Junior Scores Career-High 23 in 59-48 Triumph

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. – An 18-1 second quarter and a career night from Olivia Cathers were enough to help Maryville cruise past Covenant 59-48 Tuesday night.
 
MC led 48-23 late in the third quarter before Covenant staged a fourth-quarter comeback, making the score more respectable.
 
Maryville outscored the hosts 18-1 in the second quarter, transforming a 13-12 game entering the period into a 31-13 one-sided affair at intermission. The Scots shot the ball at a decent rate during those 10 minutes, making eight of their 17 attempts. But Covenant whiffed on all 11 field goal attempts and settled for just a single free throw by Abby Witt with 52 seconds left before the break.
 
"That second quarter, defensively, we were good," Maryville head coach Darrin Travillian said. "Liv caught fire there. Most of hers were in the second quarter, and she was knocking down shots left and right. Defensively, we were grabbing long rebounds, we were getting deflections – it was one of the best defensive quarters we have played all year."
 
Cathers scored a career-high 23 points, with 18 of those coming in the first half to lead the visitors. She was the only Maryville player in double figures. Her five 3-pointers were another collegiate high and the most by a Maryville player this season.
 
MC's six team treys tied a season high.

Having Best Scoring Season 
The Lexington, Kentucky, junior has stayed the course and, if the season ended today, her 6.0 scoring average would be her best in a Maryville uniform.
 
"That's what you are trying to teach, that you are going to be dealt all kinds of adversity and it's a question of your strength to persevere," Travillian said of Cathers. "Having the wherewithal to be ready when your number is called and, given the big stage, can you step up. And tonight, she stepped up and made some huge plays for us on both ends of the floor.
 
"The points are gaudy and they stand out because she shot the ball so well. But I was pleased with what she did defensively, on the backboard, she was active in the back of our press – just her total floor game was outstanding tonight."
 
Covenant finished with a 32-30 rebounding edge but for the visitors, it was a team effort. All 10 Maryville Scots who played grabbed at least one carom, led by four apiece from Cathers, Ella Haney and Halle Kitchen.
 
"That's awesome," Travillian said. "And that's been our thing. We are better served to be a gang rebounding team and not stand and watch one person rip. So we had a lot of people chipping in and grabbing boards tonight, especially the way Covenant spreads you out and chucks it up. Everybody's got to crash against them, because they basically go five people to the perimeter and start bombing."
 
It's been a long road back from 0-8 to start the season, but the Maryville Scots stand 11-13 overall and an impressive 10-5 in the Collegiate Conference of the South. That pulls them within one-half game of Belhaven (10-4) for third place heading into Friday afternoon's showdown in Jackson.
 
Chance for Best League Mark Since 2019-20
Win Friday and an 11-5 conference mark would match the program's best in a full season since 2019-20.
 
"That's a real test to the character of the group that they allowed me to coach them, that they bought into what we were trying to do, that we had to reinvent ourselves at Christmas and find a different identity and then play a different way. The players bought in and figured it out, and we've made some unbelievable strides since the new year."
 
Travillian knows that third place is on the line Friday night. Maryville knocked off the Blazers 72-67 in overtime at Cooper back on Jan. 24, but Belhaven hasn't lost since. The Blazers have won six in a row, including February home-floor wins over CCS leaders Piedmont and Asbury.
 
"We've got to duplicate tonight but the thing is we can't have the fourth-quarter breakdown that we had tonight," Travillian said. "We can't have the 23-point quarter for Belhaven on Friday and expect to go there and win. So we'll have to be better with the ball and then also tighten up a little bit defensively."
 
Start time Friday is 4:30 p.m. Central.