Last Friday, when Western Illinois’ Garret Covington hit the game-winning free throws in the Leathernecks’ 69-67 win over the Badgers, every Wisconsin player, coach, fan and employee in and around the Kohl Center was stunned as well as heartbroken by what they had just witnessed. A team projected by Summit League coaches to finish last in its conference had just knocked off a team that had been to two consecutive Final Fours.
Well, almost everyone was heartbroken. The lone exception was Wisconsin women’s basketball assistant coach Anya Covington. That’s because Anya is the older sister of Garret Covington, the man responsible for the Badgers’ first loss in their home opener in 17 years.
Anya is a former Wisconsin basketball standout on the floor, serving as a three-time captain, and was a consensus honorable mention All-Big Ten selection in 2012.
She is now just beginning her first season as an assistant coach for Bobbie Kelsey and the Badgers. But her successes for the Badgers as a player and now as a coach did not translate into her rooting for the Badgers Friday night.
“Well, once a Badger always a Badger, but family’s first,” Anya said. “So I wanted Garret Covington and Western Illinois to do well, to play well. I also wanted the Badgers to play well. But I was sitting on my brother’s side.”
Her younger brother had 16 crucial points, 14 of which came in the second half, including the pair of free throws that proved to be the difference.
“I was so nervous,” Anya said. “I was so nervous.”
After junior guard Bronson Koenig’s mid-range jumper bounced off the rim and into the hands of a Western Illinois player, Covington and her family was overjoyed.
“I was so joyful and elated to see my younger brother run out on the same court that I played on and have a great game, and play well. So it was a very emotional day, but I’m very proud of my brother, very proud of Western Illinois,” Anya said.
Not surprisingly, after the game, Covington’s friends and peers made fun of her for supporting WIU.
“Everyone had their jokes. Because at one point I was doing the varsity song and I had on Western stuff,” Anya said. “Some of my fellow coaches joked with me, but it was all in good fun.”
Thankfully, the Badger women’s team does not play St. Louis University, the school where Covington’s younger sister, Aaliyah, plays, or she might have another moment of conflict.
But even after rooting for Western Illinois, Covington reassuringly proclaimed her love for the Badgers.
“Well, you never want to see the Badgers lose, but I’m very proud of my brother and Western.”
