INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- After trailing by as many as 19 points in the second half, sixth-seeded University of Pikeville was within four of No. 3-seed Langston (Okla.) with under two minutes to play, but the comeback came up short in the end for an 80-71 loss in the first round of the NAIA National Championship on Wednesday.
Against a team that was beating its opponents by nearly 30 points per game, the Bears showed no fear, even after trailing by 15 at halftime and by double digits for most of the second half.
Khalilah Quigley, who matched the game high of 19 points, scored the Bears' last bucket to make it 75-71 with 1:32 to play, but Langston scored the last five points of the game at the stripe to move on to the second round.
Aundrea Matchen joined Quigley in double figures with 18 points off the bench and Kandice Porter finished with eight points and five rebounds. T'Keya Mason paced Langston with 19 points and Lulu Perry chipped in with 15.
The Lions outshot UPIKE 46.2 to 34.2 percent from the field and led the game on the boards 51-40. Pikeville ended up with less turnovers at 14-10.
Langston wasted no time jumping out to a 7-0 lead, ending the early run with a three from Lynette Holmes in the corner. Porter got the Bears their first points with a put back and Quigley banked in a three shortly after to make It 10-5.
The Lions had no trouble scoring over the first seven minutes, but time and time again UPIKE came up with big baskets. Trailing 16-10, Matchen continued that trend with a contested three to keep the Bears close.
Midway through the half though, the shots stopped falling for the Bears, leading to Langston grabbing a 24-15 lead with the help of two straight offensive rebounds and easy buckets. .
Down but not out, the Bears outscored the Lions 7-1 over the next three minutes to trim the deficit back down to three at 25-22. But as it's done all season, Langston fired back with a quick, deflating run, outscoring the Bears 11-6 to take its largest lead yet of 10 points.
With three minutes on the clock, Mason delivered a dagger with a deep three, followed by Holmes getting loose for a layup after a UPIKE miss to help Langston to a 43-28 lead.
The Lions outscored UPIKE 16-4 over the final six minutes of the half to enter the break with a 45-30 advantage.
Much like the start of the game, Langston opened the second half scoring the first four points to push the lead to 19. For the next seven minutes though, UPIKE outscored Langston 11-5, getting under the halftime deficit for the first time at 54-41 with a three from Devin Conley.
Two possessions later, it was Conley coming through again as she lost the handle on the fast break, but recovered at the top of the key to bury a second straight three. It got UPIKE within 10 at 56-46 with just over 10 minutes left.
Ten points became the stopping point for the Bears' runs for the next several minutes as they cut the deficit there multiple times. The breakthrough finally came with 3:50 to go when Jamie Castle delivered a layup to get within eight.
Quigley grabbed a board on the other end, quickly pushed it ahead to Kayla Day for an easy two and suddenly UPIKE had new life within six at 70-64. The comeback continued as Castle swiped a steal out of the hands of Holmes, drew a foul and made one free throw to get within five.
Following a one-for-two showing at the stripe by Langston, Quigley cut into the deficit even further with a layup on the other end, but four points would be as close as UPIKE would get as Langston took care of business at the Bears' last few attempts were off the mark.
UPIKE ends its season with a 23-9 overall record, while Langston improves to 28-3.
