The Covenant College men’s basketball team defeated visiting LaGrange 81-65 in a USA South game Friday evening, and the Lady Scots later erased a 20-point deficit but lost 80-77 to Piedmont. For the Scots (2-3, 2-0), who led 45-24 at halftime, Will Crumly had 25 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots and Mitchell Hollis and James Mitchell scored 21 and 19 points with five 3-point baskets each. Bailey Spragg had five assists and three steals with nine points. Gary Bishop led LaGrange (4-2, 1-1) with 18 points. In the women’s game, Amari Price had 19 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and six steals for Piedmont (6-2, 1-0), and Jatasia Bailey also scored 19 with two clutch 3s in the final minute. Covenant (1-4, 0-1) got 19 points from Kaley Hallmark, 16 with four 3s from Abi Chatham, 11 points and five assists from Raquel Rosa, 10 points and 12 rebounds from Hannah Monday, nine rebounds and four steals from Joanna Smith and seven assists from Taylor Robinson.
* The Chattanooga State men’s basketball team won 78-77 Friday at Columbia State and is now 2-1 in TCCAA play. The Tigers won 70-69 at Southwest Tennessee and lost 92-85 at Dyersburg State last weekend. Columbia State is not playing a women’s schedule this season.
* Georgia Northwestern Technical College lost 57-52 to the Welch College women and 79-67 to the Welch men in Thursday’s doubleheader in Rossville. Tori Harvey had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Gracen Hobbs scored 14 points with three 3s for the GNTC Lady Bobcats (1-6), who led 33-17 but were outscored 24-10 in the fourth quarter. J.T. Langford and Jayce Harris had 13 points each and nine and seven rebounds for the Bobcats (1-3), and Jeremy Wilson scored 10 points.
Softball
* Three-sport LaFayette High School athlete Ashton Stalling committed Thursday to play softball collegiately at NCAA Division II member Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, where the head coach is former Dade County and Covenant standout and coach Christine Engbers. Stalling was a 2018 GACA Class AAAA second-team all-state pitcher and also played outfield for Lady Ramblers coach Meagan Base, and she is in her second year with the ProStar Fastpitch organization. Her pitching coach is Kim Culbreth. Stalling has a 3.9 grade point average. “It has been a pleasure to have Ashton in our program,” ProStar founder Steve Chattin said. “Not only is she one of our top pitchers and outfielders, but you will not find a single member of the ProStar family that has one negative remark to make about her. She is as mature and well-grounded as any player I have ever coached.” He added that she has home-run power and “a Division I-level changeup while touching 60 miles per hour on her other pitches.” Stalling thanked all of her coaches “through the years” as well as her parents and God for guiding her. “Several outstanding academic and softball schools showed interest in me,” she said, “but it ultimately came down to my relationship with Coach Engbers and the comfort level I felt on my visit the weekend before Thanksgiving. I know it is a long way from home, but it will allow me to grow as a person, a student and as a softball player.”
Track and Field
* The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s track and field team opened its indoor season with nine top-10 finishes Friday in the BSC Panther Ice Breaker at the Birmingham CrossPlex, led by first and second places in the distance medley relay and a second by Kennedy Thomson in the 3000-meter run. She was five seconds behind former Moc Emily Drouin of UAB, and UTC’s Emily Poole was sixth. Makenzie Jones and Sophia Neglia were third and fourth in the mile, with Julia Henderson seventh, and Rebekah Hampton and Rebekah Bryant were eighth and ninth in the triple jump. The Mocs’ “A” team won the DMR in 12:55.34.