Jaylee Covington signs with Brescia University to play basketball

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Allen County-Scottsville High School senior Jaylee Covington will continue her basketball career at Brescia University in Owensboro.

“I’m incredible thankful for this opportunity,” Covington said. “I have prayed so much about this decision. I would not be here without God, my family, my friends, and my support system.”

Covington added that Brescia is a good fit both academically and athletically.

“They are a special program and it’s a special opportunity to get my education,” Covington noted.

Covington is coming off a senior season in which she averaged a double-double---10.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Covington led or shared in rebounding in 19 of ACS’s 25 games and was the team’s leading scorer five times. On December 9, the senior scored a career-high 20 points against Franklin-Simpson. On three occasions ---South Warren, Warren East, and Glasgow---Covington matched her career high with 15 rebounds. Covington started all 25 games and averaged just over 29 minutes per game. From the field, she was 103-271 (38.0%) and 43-75 (57.3%) at the foul line. She finished this year with 184 defensive and 82 offensive rebounds. Covington was a District 15 All-Season selection, a player-of-the-week selection by Oak Tree Sports, and a member of The Sporting Times District All-Hoops Team.

In her five-year career as a Lady Patriot, Covington appeared in 91 games and made 73 starts. Her 627 total points places her 36th on the all-time ACS scoring list. Covington finished her high school career with 679 total rebounds. Her career per game point average is 6.9 with her career per game rebounding average standing at 7.5.

Her 10.6 rebounds per game average this season is the highest seasonal rebounding average in the 49 years of Lady Patriot basketball. Her 2023 total rebounds (266) rank as the fifth most for a season in program history behind only Sarah Sutton (286), Savannah Gregory (285), her 2022 total of 270, and Stacy Fechner (268). During the past two seasons, Covington has a combined 536 rebounds following a shortened sophomore year due to the pandemic.

ACS coach Greg Dunn praised Covington for her five-year contribution to Lady Patriot basketball and feels Brescia is getting a remarkable young lady.

“Jaylee had a great career with us,” Dunn said, quickly adding, “Beyond statistics and basketball, there is so much more about Jaylee. Her leadership has been great. Her work ethic is beyond anything you could expect. In my five years here, I have never, ever seen her take off a play. Jaylee always gives her best in every game, in conditioning, and in the classroom. She is a 4.00 student. Jaylee is a class act. She is also strong in her faith and her commitment to Christ. If I could put together a profile of what a Lady Patriot basketball player would be, I’d just put up a picture of Jaylee Covington. Brescia is getting one heck of a player.”

Covington is the third Lady Patriot to commit to Brescia. Kristie Ballard (ACS Class of 2000) played four years for the Bearcats, earning All-American honors her junior and senior seasons. Stacy Felchner (ACS Class of 2001) began her college career at Brescia before transferring to Lee University.

The Bearcats---a member of the NAIA and River States Conference---will start the 2023-24 season in a rebuilding mode under a new coach. On March 13, Brandon Fisher was introduced as the program’s coach---challenged to rebuild the program. Fisher had been an assistant with the Bearcats men’s program since 2020. Previously, Fisher coached both men and women at the high school level with stops at Marshall County, Webster County, Graves County, and Lincoln County.

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