Suffocating defense and double-doubles from junior forwards Katie Wiggins and Eady Pinckard fueled the No. 6 Pike Liberal Arts Lady Patriots’ 55-46 victory over Covenant Christian Saturday afternoon in Troy.

“I thought we started off well and we played well for a spurt, but they came back on us,” PLAS head coach Steven Kilcrease said. “I was proud of them. It was a good win because this was a good ball team we just beat. They were 7-0 coming into this game.”

Wiggins had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Pinckard chipped in 12 and 10, respectively. Wiggins added five blocked shots and two steals and Pinckard had two blocks.

It was a tale of two halves from the free throw line for the Lady Patriots (3-0). They were 12-of-14 in the first half and 6-of-17 in the second half. Kilcrease has a fix for that.

“That is a huge difference,” he said. “We see what we have to work on. We have to take care of the ball.”

The Lady Patriots jumped up early on Covenant Christian and held an early 13-4 lead after the first quarter, but the Lady Lions would not go away and they clawed their way back to a 28-18 deficit at halftime.

PLAS built the lead back up in the third quarter, outscoring Covenant 12-4 in the quarter, but the Lady Lions made it a game by outscoring the Lady Patriots 24-15 in the final frame. The pressure defense of PLAS was a little much for Covenant and the Lady Patriots held on for the win.

Josie Griffin had eight points, four rebounds and four steals. Anna Saunders contributed seven points and six rebounds. Kelly Cash had five points.

The No. 10 Patriots (2-1) had an easy time with the Covenant Christian Lions, 53-33.

Ross Hixon was on fire from downtown with four three-pointers and 17 points on the night. He added two assists and two steals.

The Patriots never had trouble with the Lions after Hixon caught fire from behind the three-point line and they established the low post.

“Ross shot the ball pretty good,” PLAS head coach Mike Barbaree said. “Douglas did a good job against their pressure and penetrated and dished it off. I am proud of how they played.”

Justin McLaughlin recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Douglas Hawkins added nine points, three rebounds, six assists and five steals. Jared Henderson had five points and two rebounds. Nick McLaughlin pulled down six rebounds. Alex Adams had 14 points and nine rebounds