CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. -- The 24th-ranked University of Pikeville women's basketball team never trailed and led by as many as 16 points in a 61-52 win over No. 18 Bethel (Tenn.) on Saturday in the opening day of the MSC/SSAC Challenge.
Devin Conley led the Bears (10-3) with 20 points, including four 3-pointers, while Taylor McGlade and Kelah Eldridge chipped in with 11 points each. It wasn't a thing of beauty, but UPIKE was just a little better from the field at 38.6 to 30.2 percent from the field to hold on for the win.
Bethel is the first ranked team the Bears have beaten this season, and at 5-5 overall, has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, taking on No. 1 Freed-Hardeman twice already.
Shamon Pearson led the Wildcats with 20 points, followed by Morgan Martin with nine and Mariah McKenty led them on the glass with eight rebounds. Bethel controlled the glass 41-38, but was outscored 18-10 in points off turnovers and hit two less 3-pointers than the Bears.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
UPIKE got the start it needed against one of the nation's stingiest defenses, shooting out to a 19-6 lead in the first quarter. Brianna Burbridge was huge in the early going, at one point swiping a steal for a layup, then hitting a three on the next trip to put the Bears ahead 13-4 three minutes in.
The 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter grew to as many as 16 points in the second when a free throw from Kandice Porter made it 30-14 with 3:26 on the clock. Pearson got loose for a layup just before halftime to make it 35-22 UPIKE at the break.
As good as the Bears' start was, Bethel returned the favor in the third quarter, completing a pair of 3-point plays in the first minute to cut the deficit to seven. The Wildcats ended up outscoring UPIKE 18-8 in the third quarter, including a 7-0 to get within two with 5:15 left in the period.
Up 45-40 at the start of the fourth, Conley erupted in a hurry for the Bears, delivering a four-point play, then immediately burying another three to put UPIKE up 52-40 on a 7-0 run by herself. The threes ended up being daggers to the Wildcats as nine points was as close as they would climb the rest of the way.
While Conley went to work from deep, Eldridge found new ways to score, pump faking her way into the paint for layup after layup. After back-to-back drives to the cup, Eldridge had the Bears up by 15 points with 4:15 to play. Bethel used the free-throw line to get within nine at the two-minute mark, but Eldridge scooped in a layup right on cue to put the game away.
UP NEXT
It's back to action at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday against Mobile (Ala.) in day two of the MSC/SSAC Challenge.
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