By Matthew D. Stokes, BerryVikings.com Lead Writer

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. – Berry women's basketball defeated Covenant, 89-66, in a Thursday evening matchup at the Barnes Center. Chanlir Segarra netted a game-high 29 points for the Vikings.

With its third straight win, Berry returned to above .500 for the first time since Dec. 1, 2012. BC is now 7-6 and Covenant fell to 6-4 on the year.

After falling behind by nine points three minutes into the game, Berry seized its first lead of the evening, 14-13, with 14:20 on the clock. The team would rattle off 19 unanswered points to claim a double-digit advantage with under 13 minutes remaining. When the buzzer sounded, Berry walked to the locker room with a 49-36 edge.

"We were on their home court, so they definitely had the momentum from the start," said Chanlir Segarra, "but we kept our heads up and were able to come back."

In the first half, Mel McLean led Berry with 17 points, knocking down seven out of 12 of her field goals. The team shot 51.4 percent in those 20 minutes.

The final period would see Berry stretch its lead to as many as 32 points with less than 10 minutes left in the game. Segarra tacked on 21 of her 29 points in the second half alone.

"We came out with a great attitude about the game," said Berry Head Coach Stephanie Dunn.

In addition to McLean's and Segarra's efforts, Alexa Evans added 15 points and Tara Mullinax had 10 for Berry.

Covenant had three players in double figures as Ruth Gibson, Jessie Blankenship and Morgan Woodward scored 17, 14 and 10 points respectively.

Berry will return to the court on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. against Southern Athletic Association opponent Oglethorpe at the Cage Center.

"I'm expecting us to come out ready," Segarra said. "That's a conference game, and we're trying to win our conference so I expect us to come out strong."