Covington girls fall to Macon County in Class AA quarterfinals

Khari Thompson
Memphis Commercial Appeal

MURFREESBORO — Keeley Carter scored 28 points to lead Macon County to a 56-38 victory over Covington in the Class AA quarterfinals Wednesday at MTSU's Murphy Center.

Carter was 9-of-11 shooting and also had five rebounds and three assists. 

"I just feel like the last two years have really prepared me for this moment," said Carter, a junior guard playing in her third straight state tournament.

Covington (28-6) was led by a pair of sophomores. Felia Fayne posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Kalynn Howard scored 15 points.

Covington coach Katrisha Glass said that she is looking forward to bringing the duo back next year with more experience under their belts. 

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"At the beginning there was obviously some jitters, you know, first time being on this huge stage. But I thought we adjusted well. We fought hard," Glass said. "I couldn’t be more proud of these young girls. Every single starter that I have will be back next year, so we’ll just work even harder to get back to this point and get over the hump of whoever we play in that first game, especially Macon County." 

Macon County's Keeley Carter (24) scores against Covington during Wednesday's Class AA quarterfinals at MTSU's Murphy Center.

Macon County (31-5) opened the game with a 10-2 run and never relinquished the lead. It ran a full court press that forced 12 turnovers. 

Covington was effective when it was able to get the ball over half court, particularly when it worked the ball inside to Fayne, who scored 13 first-half points. 

"Next time we’ll play harder, tougher and with more heart," Fayne said. 

Covington began the fourth quarter down 10, but Macon County hit seven of its last nine shots and held Covington to seven points for the quarter, closing out the victory. 

"I think they’re really good, talented and they play well together," Howard said. "I think if we could have executed better and stayed in it in the fourth quarter then we could have came out on top."

Macon County advanced to face Cheatham County (29-3) at 10 a.m. Friday in the semifinals. 

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