Box Score

PIKEVILLE, Ky. – A 10-point lead slipped away in the second half as No. 21 Cumberlands (Ky.) used a 15-7 run to go up by one and never look back for a 69-63 win over the University of Pikeville women's basketball team on Monday at the East Ky. Expo Center.

The Bears were up 53-52 with six minutes left, but the Patriots went on an 11-0 run and never let UPIKE get closer than six points the rest of the way. Cumberlands went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line during that stretch and got a three from Jackie Alexander that got things going at 57-53.

Pikeville (12-14, 6-8 MSC) cut an 11-point deficit down to six in the final 40 seconds with a three from Brogan Conley and steal and layup from Callisha Johnson, but couldn't catch a break from the Patriots at the stripe.

Johnson led all scorers with 25 points, but turned the ball over seven times with just one assist. Conley was the only other player to join her in double figures with 13, while Kandice Porter tallied eight points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals off the bench.

Julie Haye finished with a double-double of 21 points and 10 boards for Cumberlands (16-9, 10-5 MSC) and Brooke Forsythe added 19 points and eight rebounds. Alexander was the other Patriot in double figures with 14.

Offense was a struggle for both teams with UPIKE holding a slight 41.2 to 37.3 percent advantage from the field. The Bears did hit 4-of-11 3-point attempts, compared to just 5-of-26 for the Patriots. Pikeville was ultimately undone by 22 turnovers and being beat on the glass 43-37.

Cumberlands jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first six minutes and held on to a lead for all but the final seconds of the first half. Trailing 27-21 with three minutes on the clock, Pikeville outscored the Patriots 10-1 to take a 31-28 lead into the break after a last-second layup from Porter.

Pikeville flipped the script in the second half, keeping the lead itself for the first 14 minutes. It grew as large as 10 points on a 3-point play from Courtney Haney with 16:52 on the clock. But Cumberlands simply had a better final 10 minutes, hitting more shots, more free throws and grabbing more rebounds to complete the impressive comeback.

With the loss, UPIKE drops into a tie for sixth place in the Mid-South Conference standings with Bluefield (Va.). The final four league games will be crucial as only the top-eight teams qualify for the MSC Tournament.

The next test is at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday at Shawnee State in Portsouth, Ohio. Shawnee State is currently fifth in the standings with a 7-7 league record.