FRANKFORT, Ky. – It was a first half to forget for the fourth-seeded University of Pikeville women's basketball team, but it made up for it in the second to grab a 73-59 win over No. 5-seed Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the Mid-South Conference Tournament on Thursday.

UPIKE (21-9) advances to the semifinals for the third time in the last four seasons, but it has never reached the championship game. The Bears will face top-seeded Shawnee State (Ohio) at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday in the Frankfort Convention Center after it dispatched No. 8-seed Life (Ga.) 118-42 in the day's opener.

After shooting just 32 percent in the first half and allowing Georgetown to hit at 50, the Bears trailed by as many as seven at 13-7. It was frustrating as rebounding was even in the half and the Tigers gave up 10 more turnovers with 15.

But for all the offensive struggles in the first 20 minutes, the second half was the exact opposite. Offensive and defensive energy increased for the Bears as it hit at 48 percent in the frame while limiting Georgetown to just a 39 percent showing. The Tigers also ended up with 25 turnovers, compared to just 12 for UPIKE.

Kelah Eldridge kept her foot on the gas all game long, ending up with 18 points, her highest tally since Dec. 18 against Mobile (Ala.) when she had the same amount. Eldridge shot 4 of 7 from behind the arc and Devin Conley went 3 for 6 to finish with 15 points off the bench.

Brianna Burbridge was important off the bench as well with 14 points and five rebounds to go along with three steals.

Georgetown (8-20) was led by Kennedy Flynn with 16 points and Emilie Ziese chipped in with 15 points and eight boards as both teams finished with 34 rebounds.

The Tigers has used a 9-0 run over the final three minutes of the first quarter to take a 22-13 lead and still led by six with 6:27 left in the second quarter. But that's also when UPIKE's comeback effort got started as it rallied back to tie the score at 31 before ending the half down one after a Leslie Fries free throw.

UPIKE outscored Georgetown 19-7 in the third quarter which was where the game was won for the Bears. Eldridge hit a 3 in the first minute which started a 12-3 run to get the Bears up by six. Four minutes later the lead was 11 at 50-39 after a pair of Kandice Porter free throws.

Georgetown cut its deficit to nine twice in the first three minutes of the final frame, but that's as close as it got as UPIKE enjoyed leads as high as 16 points four times the rest of the way. The latest came at the 1:38 mark on a 3 by Porter to make it 71-55.

BEAR FACTS

• UPIKE improves to 6-15 all time in the MSC Tournament, including a 3-7 mark against Georgetown.
• This is the second straight season that the Bears have faced Georgetown in the quarterfinals, followed by Shawnee State in the semis.
• First-year head coach Clifton Williams matches the program record for most wins by a coach in their first season with 21. Former coach Bill Watson went 21-14 in his first season on the job.

-UPIKE-