WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. -- Trailing by one in the final minute, Khalilah Quigley found Kandice Porter alone in the paint to help the University of Pikeville hold off Cumberlands 70-67 on Saturday afternoon in the O. Wayne Rollins Center.
It was a back-and-forth affair all game with 11 lead changes and the Patriots controlled the offensive glass 17-8, but timely baskets and stingy defense helped the Bears pull off the win. Cumberlands shot just 38.8 percent from the field, compared to 49.1 for UPIKE.
Porter led the Bears with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Quigley and Kelah Eldridge both added 14 points each. Eldridge scored 12 of her points from behind the arc with four threes. Despite scoring just two points and getting in early foul trouble, Jamie Castle finished with six assists.
Lydia Box led all scorers with 23 points for the Patriots and Essence Grey chipped in with 15.
The victory gives UPIKE 20 wins in a season for the first time since 2008-09, while this is the first win at Cumberlands since January of 2011.
It was a slow go for offense over the first seven minutes as Cumberlands (11-12, 4-6 MSC) led 11-8 after a bucket by Grey with 12:48 on the clock. The Patriots got some separation with a three by Cecil to go up six, but Quigley answered immediately for UPIKE with a three of her own.
Those two buckets seemed to take the lid off the rim for Cumberlands as it jumped out to an 18-11 lead on a jumper from Bree Alvin. The Bears didn't go away though, getting hot for an 11-4 run that tied the game at 22 on a three from Eldridge.
It was incredible for it to be tied as the Patriots were leading 19-5 on the glass at the time. Shooting was saving the Bears, hitting at 50 percent from the field, compared to 32.1 percent for Cumberlands.
At the three-minute mark of the first half, Eldridge kept things rolling with another long-range bomb to put the Bears up 29-24. Like UPIKE previously, the Patriots matched it on the next trip, but Aundrea Matchen took off for a fast-break layup to go back up by four.
The last two minutes belonged to Cumberlands which went on a 7-0 run. The comeback effort included a jumper and free throw from Lydia Box before Essence Grey connected on a shot at the halftime buzzer to make it 34-31.
After UPIKE (20-6, 5-5 MSC) opened the second half on a 5-0 run to take a two-point lead, Cumberlands fought back for a 40-36 advantage. But the hero of the day for UPIKE continued to be Eldridge who hit her third and fourth threes back-to-back to put the Bears ahead 42-40.
After the 3-point shot helped UPIKE, it quickly came back to bite it as Box and Grey made two to turn a 46-41 deficit into a 47-46 lead with 11:00 minutes to go.
This was truly a game of runs though as the Bears went on a quick 4-0 burst to go back up by three, followed immediately by four straight points for the Patriots.
Breathing room for the Bears finally came in the form of a 56-51 lead when Quigley and Porter hit a pair of shots in the paint. It matched their largest lead since being up 29-24 near halftime. While Erin Swatzel added a free throw, the narrative of the game didn't change as two straight Patriot threes tied the score again at 57.
UPIKE was in front 61-59 with 4:30 to go after a hook shot from Swatzel, but Stojanovic and Box weren't interest in giving up. The duo nailed a pair of threes to help the Patriots to a 65-62 lead.
Matchen cut into the deficit with two free throws and after a Patriots miss, the Bears had the ball with a chance to take the lead. Quigley missed on a three from the corner and Porter couldn't get her put back near the baseline to fall. Cumberlands converted the miss for a layup to go up by three in the final two minutes.
UPIKE stuck around and saw itself down one at 67-66 with one minute to play. It got two possessions to take a lead and made the second one count as Quigley found Porter from the high post for an easy layup. Box's running jumper missed on the other end and Porter was sent to the line for one-and-one with 4.7 seconds left.
Porter missed her first attempt, but all of UPIKE's rebounding woes were made up by Quigley who battled for the rebound. She was sent to the line where she made two shots to go up 70-67 with 3.3 ticks of the clock remaining. DeLoach eventually got the ball for a quick release, but her shot bounced off to give the Bears the win.
Next up for UPIKE is a matchup with No. 3 Campbellsville at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday in the East Ky. Expo Center.
