LEBANON, Tenn. -- The University of Pikeville women's basketball team scored a season-low in a 59-37 loss at Cumberland on Saturday. It's the fewest points scored by the Bears since tallying the same amount against Georgetown in 2005.
Cumberland is known for its defense as UPIKE also scored just 39 against the Phoenix back in a 2013 contest.
Aundrea Matchen tied for the game high with 15 points, but little else went right for the Bears. They ended up shooting 28 percent from the field (15-52) and Jamie Castle was the next leading scorer with eight. Emily Baker and Rachel Lee both pulled down nine rebounds, but the Bears lost as a team on the glass 40-30.
Kyra Tucker tallied 15 points for Cumberland which shot 40 percent and made 10 of 16 free throws. UPIKE went to the line just once, making both shots early in the second quarter.
When Micah Norris made a jumper with 5:10 left in the first quarter it put the Phoenix (16-9, 5-5 MSC) in front 11-7. Ant'Treasia Patton made a layup a minute later, but then both teams went scoreless for the next four minutes and 30 seconds, a drought that spanned two quarters.
Matchen ended up lifting the lid on the basket with two makes from the stripe early in the second quarter. Those freebies were the start of a 9-0 run for UPIKE (12-14, 3-7 MSC) which helped it take its first lead at 14-13 on a corner 3 by Adison Corder.
Matchen added to the lead with a layup on the next possession, but three points was the biggest gap of the half for Pikeville. Cumberland answered with a 7-2 run to regain the lead for good before finishing up the half up 25-18 after Tucker drained her second 3 at the buzzer.
The Phoenix outscored UPIKE 18-6 over the first eight minutes of the third quarter to go ahead by as many as 19 points at 43-24. A runner by Castle and another 3 from Corder in the last 1:40 helped ease the pain as it provided a more manageable deficit of 14.
UPIKE failed to take advantage of the quick burst of momentum though as Cumberland scored eight of the first 10 points in the fourth, eventually going up by 20 at 53-33. Castle scored four straight points in a last push to get back in it, but time ran out on the rally.
UP NEXT
It's rivalry week as the Bears prepare for a trip to Georgetown at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday.
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