PIPPA PASSES, Ky. -- The University of Pikeville women's basketball team outscored Alice Lloyd 49-37 in the second half after being tied at halftime to register a 91-79 win on the road Tuesday.
It's the second win of the season for UPIKE over Alice Lloyd after also winning 109-75 at UPIKE Gym on Nov. 11. The last time the Bears went to Pippa Passes, Ky., the outcome wasn't as friendly, falling 93-84. Carla Booth did her best to give the Eagles another win.
Booth finished with a game-high 32 points, hitting two threes and 8-of-9 shots from the free-throw line, to go along with three assists, three steals, two blocks and four rebounds. But the one-woman show wasn't enough to overcome the Bears with four players in double figures, including two with double-doubles.
Khalilah Quigley led the way with 24 points, four assists and four boards, while Shekinah Gibson had 18 points and 14 rebounds and Kandice Porter finished with 18 and 10. Reserve Aundrea Matchen had her second straight game with double figures, finishing with 11 points and pulling down seven boards.
Both teams struggled mightily from the field, but UPIKE (6-2) made up for it with a 46-28 advantage on the glass, leading to a game-changing 20-6 lead in second-chance points. Free-throw shooting was also crucial as UPIKE made 32-of-40 freebies and Alice Lloyd (4-4) was efficient, but didn't get to the line enough, hitting 14-of-17.
The Bears shot 46.8 percent from the field, and just 8.3 percent (1-12) from three, compared to 41.3 from the field and 21.4 from deep for the Eagles.
UPIKE's largest lead of the first half was 10 points when Quigley's jumper made it 25-15 with 9:30 left. But over the next four minutes, Alice Lloyd went on a 15-6 run capped off by a three-point play from Booth to make it a one-point game at 31-30.
The Eagles went on to lead by four at 42-38 in the final 30 seconds of the half, but Gibson connected on an and-one play of her own and Apolonia Thomas made one free throw just before the buzzer to tie it up at the break.
Serena Nickell hit the first shot of the second half in the paint to put Alice Lloyd back up by two, but Gibson and Quigley answered with quick back-to-back baskets to give the lead back to UPIKE which it never lost again. Instead, the Bears rallied to go back up by double digits at 78-67 with just over five minutes to play.
Quigley's two free throws added to the deficit to end an 8-4 UPIKE run over the next three minutes that saw it go up by as many as 15 points. Booth made the last basket of the game with 49 seconds on the clock to tally the 91-79 final score.
UPIKE is back on the court at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, hosting UVa.-Wise at the East Ky. Expo Center.
