GEORGETOWN, Ky. -- A pivotal fourth-quarter performance by the University of Pikeville women's basketball team made the difference in its 63-62 win over Georgetown on Thursday.
The Bears and Tigers played nearly even in the first half, then they each got a quarter to shine in the second half. It just happened that UPIKE's fourth shined a little brighter.
After trailing by as many as 17 points in the third, the Bears outscored the Tigers 19-2 over the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter to complete a comeback that seemed improbable going into the frame.
A corner 3 by Mullins with 1:57 on the clock gave UPIKE the lead at 56-53 and it never trailed again. A runner by Shelby Beam made it a two-point game in the final seconds, but Jamie Castle answered with two makes from the stripe.
With the Bears ahead by four, Lydia Graves threw a 3 in from beyond half court at the buzzer, but no harm, no foul as UPIKE held on for the one-point win.
Castle and Aundrea Matchen led UPIKE (13-14, 4-7 MSC) with 19 points each and Adison Corder chipped in with nine. Elisabeth Latham came up big with 11 rebounds and Castle dished out five assists.
Graves finished with 13 points for the Tigers which fell to 8-18 overall and 2-9 in league play. Georgetown outshot UPIKE 43-40 percent from the field, outrebounded it by four and made three more 3-pointers, but 16 turnovers and making six less free throws than the Bears made the difference.
It was 26-23 UPIKE at the half, but Georgetown went on an 18-2 run after the break, helping them outscore the Bears 28-11 in the frame and take control of a game that felt like the Bears' to lose in the first half.
UPIKE's comeback run ended up spanning the third and fourth quarters, all the way up to it becoming the Matchen show when she hit a tough jumper and layup on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 53 for the first time since it was 9-9.
A few possessions later Mullins got loose in the corner, drilled the shot, and the rest is history.
UPIKE had led by as many six points in the first half, but it took nearly the entire half to get there. It took a short jumper by Aundrea Matchen with 1:59 left in the second quarter to make get it past a one-possession game at 26-20.
Georgetown ended up turning a three-point halftime deficit into a 17-point lead in the third and was still up by 14 at the end of the frame before UPIKE went on to score the first nine points of the final quarter.
UP NEXT
UPIKE hosts No. 3 Campbellsville at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday in the East Ky. Expo Center.
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