PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- Despite posting a season-high 24 turnovers, the University of Pikeville women's basketball team held on for its second win over a ranked opponent of the season, topping No. 22 Cumberland (Tenn.) 69-65 on Saturday in the East Ky. Expo Center.
Kandice Porter helped offset the turnover troubles with a balanced effort of 10 points, five rebounds, four blocks, a career-high four steals and two assists. Khalilah Quigley led all scorers with 16 points and pulled down seven board, while Aundrea Matchen and Jamie Castle added 12 and 10 points off the bench, respectively.
It was UPIKE's first ranked win since beating then-No. 17 Georgetown 77-73 at home on Nov. 15.
The score was tied 12-12 on a basket by Cumberland's Terra Pryor eight minutes into the first half. But the Bears scored 15 of the next 20 points to build a 10 point lead just less than five minutes before halftime. At the break it was a 33-24 lead for UPIKE (15-5, 3-4 MSC).
While it seemed like the Bears were safely in control, the Bulldogs came out on an 11-2 run to start the second half, trimming the deficit to two at 37-35. It got as close as a one-point contest when Jalita Fason hit a layup to bring Cumberland within 42-41.
This time it was UPIKE's time to go on a run, outscoring Cumberland (9-8, 3-3 MSC) 16-2 over the next seven minutes to lead by 15 points.
It was still a 10-point game with 1:45 on the clock, but the Bulldogs scored seven of the next nine points to get back within five at 67-62. Kelah Eldridge as sent to the stripe where she missed the front end of the bonus, but the Bulldogs couldn't capitalize as Porter swiped a pass with 15 seconds to go.
Porter hit two free throws to make it a seven-point game before Fason buried a three as time expired to get to the final 69-65 score.
Brittany Lawson and Tamera Giles paced Cumberland with 12 points each, while Fason added nine points and a team-high seven rebounds. The Bulldogs led the game on the glass 36-35, but shot just 40 percent from the field compared to 50 for the Bears.
UPIKE needed to be good from the field as it hit just 1-of-10 shots from 3-point range. The Bears also hit 22 free throws, compared to just six makes for the Bulldogs.
The Bears will take a break until 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday as they step outside Mid-South Conference play hosting West Virginia Tech at the expo center. UPIKE beat the Golden Bears 91-85 in the first game of the season.
