WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. -- After trailing by as many as 24 points in the first quarter, the 22nd-ranked University of Pikeville women's basketball team clamped down on defense and found a way to win at Cumberlands 78-71 on Saturday.

Brianna Burbridge poured in a career-high 20 points to pace UPIKE while Devin Conley went 8 of 13 from the free-throw line on her way to 16 and Kandice Porter chipped in with 13. Aundrea Matchen joined them in double figures with 11 points.

Kayla Bruner tallied a game-high 22 points with a perfect 7-7 showing from the stripe, but it wasn't enough to contend with 21 turnovers. The Patriots also went from shooting 72 percent in the first quarter to finishing at 39.1 percent after struggling to knock down shots the rest of the way.

UPIKE stayed consistent, shooting 47.4 percent from the field to win despite making just 2 3s and going 22 of 41 from the free-throw line.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

It wasn't the start UPIKE expected as Cumberlands scored the first 11 points and went on to lead 18-2 after a Bruner jumper with 4:18 left in the first quarter. The lead grew to 24 points two minutes later before Porter gave the Bears a little life with a long jumper and 3-pointer to make it 30-9.

The first quarter ended with the Patriots (10-8, 2-4 MSC) holding a 32-11 lead as the only points scored over the final two minutes of the frame were two free throws for each team.

Needing something to change in a hurry, UPIKE (15-6, 4-3 MSC) scrapped its initial game plan and started attacking the Patriot's man-to-man defense with one-on-one drives to the cup. The advantage in athleticism showed as Matchen and Kelah Eldridge got to the rack with ease to start mounting a comeback.

With the offense picking up, so did the effectiveness of UPIKE's press, led by the long arms of Burbridge. She caused three steals in the backcourt by herself as the Bears eventually got the deficit down to nine points at 42-33 with 1:07 on the clock.

It was the first single-digit deficit for the Bears since it was 11-2 in the first four minutes of the game. UPIKE went from being outscored 32-11 in the first quarter to a 26-11 advantage in the second to trail by just six at halftime.

Cumberlands' lead was down to eight points a 54-46 with 3:28 left in the third quarter before the Bears ended the frame on a 5-0 run with a 3 from Rachel Lee and single free throws from Conley and Burbridge to trail by three entering the final quarter.

Conley's layup in the first 15 seconds got UPIKE as close as it had been since trailing 3-0 on the game's first basket. A few seconds later Conley struck again following an offensive foul by the Patriots and UPIKE had its first lead of the game at 55-54.

UPIKE never trailed again and extended its lead to as many as seven points twice the rest of the way. That's not to say there weren't tense moments as when Ashley Jackson's 3 made it 74-71 with 33 seconds left, but the Bears made enough free throws down the stretch to hold on as Cumberlands missed its final two shots.

UP NEXT

The Bears stay on the road at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday at Georgetown.

-UPIKE-