Senior captain Jahpera McEachin of the LaGrange College women's basketball team tied a career-high with 25 points, to go along with eight rebounds and six assists, during an 85-46 triumph over Covenant on Thursday evening in Mariotti Gym.
LaGrange (3-0, 3-0 USA South) scored 48 first-half points and held Covenant (1-10, 0-3 USA South) to 13 second-half points. The Panthers shot 48.6% from the field and put four players in double figures. LC's defense held Covenant to 24.6% shooting from the field.
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"It was a great win for our team against a tough Covenant team," said LaGrange College women's basketball head coach Jasen Jonus. "Our effort was tremendous, and we did a great job on the boards. We got to remain hungry and be ready to play at Covenant on Saturday. We are getting better one day at a time. The student-athletes have bought into our system on both ends of the floor. We must improve our free-throw shooting moving forward."
Senior center Nadia Montour recorded her first collegiate double-double with career-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Montour, who shot 8-for-10 from the field, tied a personal-best four blocks, moving into fourth in program history in career blocks (48).
Sophomore forward Morgan Grant was a force on the glass. She grabbed a career and game-high 11 rebounds.
"Thursday night was an opportunity for our team to come together and do what needed to be done," said Grant. "We executed well. We need to continue doing that throughout the rest of the season."
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
The Panthers stormed out to a 14-0 lead 4:49 into the game. McEachin scored 12 points during the surge, featuring a floater in the lane, back-to-back 3-pointers and two straight layups.
Grant made an outstanding defensive rotation and drew a charge with 5:26 left in the first quarter. McEachin and Montour combined for 22 first-quarter points and LC led, 26-11, at the end of one.
Grant pulled down a defensive rebound in traffic 54 seconds into the second. With 8:21 left, she ripped away an offensive rebound from a Covenant defender, and then finished off a layup, giving the hosts a 28-13 lead.
Sophomore forward Breonna Glover asserted her position in the paint and blocked a runner with 4:43 remaining in the half. Senior captain Megan English hit the middle of Covenant's zone defense, and then delivered a great pass to junior captain Jada Brown on the left baseline. Brown drilled the open 3-pointer, putting LC in front, 42-23, with 2:37 on the clock.
A layup at the first-half buzzer by McEachin gave the Panthers a 48-33 cushion heading into intermission.
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SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
On the first possession of the second half, Grant received the ball at the 3-point line and got her defender out of position with a pump fake. She stepped inside the arc and calmly buried a right-elbow jumper.
Grant pulled down six rebounds in the third and seven different Panthers scored in the quarter. Brown converted a layup off a feed by junior guard Jalaya Lewis with 43 seconds remaining. LC took a 69-41 lead into the fourth.
Montour stole the ball 1:05 into the fourth, and then went to the basket all alone for an easy layup. Montour corralled an over-the-top transition pass by Brown and finished through contact, pushing the lead up to 80-43 with 4:57 showing.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Brown finished with 10 points, five rebounds and a career-high five assists. Lewis tallied career-highs of 15 points and five assists, while English finished with a personal-best five steals.
LC held a 53-37 advantage in rebounds and a 17-6 lead in assists. The Panthers led, 54-16, in points in the paint and 31-16 in points off turnovers.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
LC is 16-6 all-time and 10-1 in Mariotti against Covenant. Each team has gone 5-5 on Covenant's home court and the Panthers are 1-0 in neutral-site games.
LC's 39-point win on Thursday was the most lopsided victory in the series. Covenant won the first-ever matchup between the programs, 63-41, on Nov. 25, 2000. From 2010-17, the Panthers won 13 of 14 games in the rivalry, and then the Scots won 4 of 6 prior to Thursday's matchup.
UP NEXT:
The Panthers are scheduled to play Covenant on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Assistant Sports Information Director Trevor Wenners can be reached at twenners@lagrange.edu.
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