Tharptown’s Jessica Wilson fights for the ball against a Covenant Christian player. Photo by Bart Moss.

By Bart Moss

For the FCT

When the Tharptown Lady Wildcats faced off against the Covenant Christian Eagles earlier this season, the result was not pretty. The Eagles ran away with the game 56-31.

A few weeks later, Covenant Christian, the second-ranked 1A team in the state, remained unbeaten and seventh-ranked Tharptown’s lone loss was to the Eagles.

They met again on the hardwood Thursday night, and this time, the Lady Wildcats returned the favor and served the Lady Eagles their first loss of the season in Tharptown’s 62-54 victory.

Covenant Christian jumped out to a 13-9 first quarter lead but Tharptown came storming back with a 22-point second quarter to take a 31-24 halftime lead.

The Wildcats continued their surge into the third quarter outscoring the Eagles 16-7 extending their lead to 47-31.

Highly ranked teams don’t go away quietly though. Covenant Christian came storming back in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles cut the Wildcats lead to a little as six points with 1:31 remaining in the game. However, Tharptown held on for the 62-54 win and showed they would be a team in the conversation come February.

Kamri Sears led the Wildcats with 15 points. Haley Malone also scored in double-figures with 12 points. Also scoring were Kathy Alfaro (8), Danielle Creasy (7), Jessica Wilson (7), Kaitlyn Vandiver (6), Savannah Hamilton (5), and Brooke Daniel (2).