Box Score The No. 15 Maryville College Scots earned the USA South Regular Season title – their fourth in a row – on Saturday afternoon, as the Orange and Garnet topped Covenant College in the Battle of the Scots, 71-52.
Maryville has now won the USA South Regular Season or Divisional title in each of the four years the school has been within the league, making the feat a special one for the 2015-16 seniors on the squad.
"I'm very happy for our team and this regular season title," Maryville Head Coach Darrin Travillian said. "These seniors are able to say that they have been a part of four conference titles. We know there is work to do in the tournament, but this is an achievement worth noting."
Although the Scots have won the regular season title, they have yet to claim a USA South Athletic Conference Tournament crown. In each of the past three seasons, Maryville has finished as the tournament runners-up.
This year's tournament will be held in Maryville Boydson Baird Gymnasium. The first round will be on Thursday, Feb. 25. Games will be at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Maryville started the game slow, coming out of the first quarter with only a four-point lead, 15-11.
However, the shooters found their touch, outscoring the Georgian Scots 26-8 in the second quarter to take a 41-19 lead to the locker room.
"We are very pleased with today's team effort," Travillian said. "After starting a little sluggishly, our bench came in and really jump started us on both ends of the floor. From there, our work in the paint and on the boards opened up our transition game and loosened up our shooters."
Maryville shot 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the floor in the second quarter, while bucketing 1-of-2 treys. The Scots also tallied a 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) at the charity stripe during the same period.
Madison Maples had nine points in the second quarter on 4-of-5 shooting, while Mackenzie Puckett dropped seven with a 2-for-4 effort, while bucketing each of her three free-throw attempts.
The halftime margin would prove to be enough, as Maryville would cruise to the 71-52 championship-clinching victory.
Maryville was paced by 39 points off the bench, as the Scots tallied 18 second chance points on 16 offensive boards. Maryville also had 19 points off 21 Covenant turnovers, as MC had 30 points in the paint on the evening.
Maples led Maryville (21-3, 14-1 USA South) with a 19-point effort. The sophomore shot 7-of-13 (53.8 percent), while knocking down four long balls.
Puckett tallied 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting, as she had four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Rachel Hawn had 14 points for the Scots, adding in seven rebounds, three assists and a steal, while Allyson Freiermuth and Jordan Ballard each had seven points. Freiermuth had a game-high eight rebounds, while Ballard had three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Brittany Johnson had five points and a team-high four assists, while Lauren Biliter had three points. Abby Navarro added a point for Maryville.
The Scots shot 27-of-61 (44.3 percent) from the floor, while knocking down six treys on a 33.3 percent effort. MC also shot 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from the charity stripe, while out-rebounding their Scots counterparts, 38-30.
Covenant (10-15, 6-10) was led by a 12-point effort from Joanna Smith. Kaley Hallmark added 11 points, while Rachel Price pulled down nine rebounds for the Georgian Scots. She also added a game-high two blocks in the game.
