PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- For just the second time in the last three seasons, the 19th-ranked University of Pikeville women's basketball team has lost four straight after falling to No. 3 Campbellsville 84-68 on Thursday in the East Ky. Expo Center.
Three of the four losses have come against teams ranked in the top 10 of the NAIA, but Thursday's loss may have been the hardest to take after entering the fourth quarter down by just four points at 62-58.
Campbellsville opened the period on a 7-0 run though, followed by another 11-4 spurt that put it up by a game-high 18 points with three minutes to play. UPIKE had held a 51-50 lead midway through the third quarter, but couldn't keep up over the final 10 minutes, getting outscored 23-10.
Rachel Lee paced UPIKE (19-5, 5-5 MSC) with 16 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, while Kelah Eldridge chipped in with 15. Both players hit a pair of 3-pointers. Dinyell Calvert and Aundrea Matchen joined them in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Campbellsville (22-4, 9-2 MSC) did its damage primarily from two sources as Emily Fox poured in 27 points on six threes and Lindsey Burd notched a double-double of 26 points and 10 boards.
UPIKE outrebounded the Tigers 42-35, but hit seven less free throws, three less 3-pointers and was outshot 45.2 to 43.1 percent from the field. UPIKE also gave up 22 turnovers, compared to Campbellsville with just 11.
The Tigers shot out to a 10-0 lead behind two threes from Fox and a couple of inside buckets from Burd in the first two minutes. UPIKE eventually got things settled down, using the next five minutes to tie things up by outscoring Campbellsville 19-9.
UPIKE trailed by as many as eight points in the second quarter, but by the 4:15 mark of the third, it took its first lead on a free throw by Kayla Day at the end of an 11-3 run.
The lead was brief though as Fox nailed a three on the Tigers' next trip and the Bears never recovered. It was close the rest of the quarter, but the fourth was all Campbellsville.
Up Next
UPIKE hosts St. Catharine for senior day at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb, 13 in the East Ky. Expo Center.
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