PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- A season plagued by injuries reared its ugly head again as fifth-seeded University of Pikeville was limited to just seven players in a 62-56 loss to No. 4-seed Cumberland (Tenn.) in the quarterfinals of the Mid-South Conference Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday in the East Ky. Expo Center.
After falling behind by as many as 16 points early in the third quarter, the Bears made an incredible late push to pull off the comeback. It ended up being a 13-1 run for five minutes late in the fourth quarter which pulled UPIKE all the way back within three at 54-51 before going cold from the field.
Aundrea Matchen paced UPIKE with 17 points, followed by Hailey Anderson with 14 and Jamie Castle with 10.
Micah Norris tied Matchen for the game high with 17 points to lead Cumberland which outshot the Bears 37 to 28 percent from the field, a mark it needed after being beat on the glass 38-35.
The Bears (14-17) fell behind by as many as 15 points in the first half when Kaitlin Oliver sank a pair of free throws in the second quarter. A 5-0 run over the next two minutes, including a corner 3 by Kayla Mullins, got UPIKE back within 10, but nine points ended up being the closest it got when Castle made it 29-20 with a freebie.
Cumberland (20-10) went on to score six of the next eight points to take a 35-22 lead into the break while holding the Bears to below 25 percent shooting from the field.
For a segment spanning the first and second quarters, the Bears went without a field goal for over five minutes, falling behind by 13 with 7:30 left in the second quarter by the time Mullins ended the drought with a layup.
That period of time without any points put the Bears in a situation where they got no closer than nine, but trailed by no more than 14, for the next 22 minutes.
UPIKE looked poised to get closer when Anderson's put back made it 48-38 with 7:37 to play. Cumberland missed a 3 on the other end, but Anderson was whistled for a foul on the rebound, and the ensuing free throws started a 5-0 run for the Phoenix.
Ant'Treasia Patton and Norris made jumpers during the run which took UPIKE from having two chances to at least get back within single digits to suddenly trailing by 15 again.
A 6-1 run, highlighted by four points from Castle, gave the Bears a chance near the midway point of the fourth as it finally got them back within nine. When Mullins sank two free throws with 3:15 left, it made it 54-36, the closest it had been since it was 29-20 in the second quarter.
It was 53-38 when Norris made her jumper with 6:13 on the clock, fast forward five minutes and it ended up being a 13-1 run for UPIKE to make it 54-51 on a 3-point play by Anderson who had battled for an offensive rebound.
Kaitlin Oliver ended the run for the Phoenix on the next possession, setting them up to score six of the next eight points which helped them fend off the furious UPIKE rally. Once it cut Cumberland's lead to three, the Bears went 1 for 4 from the field and 1 for 2 from the stripe over the final minute.
UPIKE ends its season at 14-17 overall, while Cumberland advances to the semifinals on Saturday against top-seeded Shawnee State (Ohio).
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