Columbia, Ky. - The University of Pikeville Bears hit the road tonight for their Mid-South Conference opener and won 73-60 over the Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders.
Morgan Stamper opened up the scoring tonight with a layup to give the Bears an early 2-0 lead. Allie Stone connected from beyond the arc and Sierra Feltner hit a jump-shot to give the Bears an early 7-0 advantage. Lindsey Wilson stormed back, going on a 14-5 run to go up 14-12. Trailing by two late in the first, Bailey Frazier drained a three to give the Bears a 17-16 lead after one. Frazier and Stamper both had five first-quarter points.
UPIKE went on a 9-0 run to open up the second, holding the Blue Raiders scoreless through the first five minutes. Lindsey Wilson then scored five to cut the UPIKE lead to 26-21, but the Bears punched back with a 5-0 run of their own and led 31-21 with 3:28 remaining in the first half. Just before the end of the quarter, Sierra Feltner hit a three to give the Bears a 39-27 lead at the half. Allie Stone was 3-3 from beyond the arc and had 11 total points in the second quarter. Morgan Stamper grabbed another five rebounds during the second quarter as well.
Mary Englert got rolling in the second half with four points early on in the third quarter. Englert had 11 of the Bears' 19 third quarter points. The Blue Raiders made it interesting in the third when they cut what was a 13-point UPIKE lead into a 47-43 Bears lead. UPIKE slammed the door on LWC's comeback bid and stretched their lead back to 11 (58-47) to close out the third quarter.
The Bears locked down Lindsey Wilson in the fourth quarter, allowing just 13 points off 36% shooting. Lindsey Wilson would not get within nine points on the Bears in the final frame. Leading by nine with 4:32 to go, Morgan Stamper and Allie Stone recorded layups to put the game out of reach. The two teams would score four more each and the Bears took this one 73-60. Mary Englert had six more points in the fourth and was a perfect 3-3 from the field.
Mary Englert had a game-high 21 points tonight followed by Allie Stone with 16. Stone tallied 34 minutes and was 4-6 from beyond the arc. Sierra Feltner dropped 14 points and had an impressive night defensively, recording two blocks and two steals. Morgan Stamper had nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds tonight. As a team, the Bears shot 48% from the field and were 39% from beyond the arc. UPIKE's defense held the Blue Raiders to only 35% from the field and 26% from three.
UPIKE is 2-1 (1-0) following tonight's win. Tonight's victory over the Blue Raiders is also the first time UPIKE has beaten Lindsey Wilson on the road. Next up for the Bears is another Mid-South road matchup against the Freed-Hardeman Lions next Thursday night.
#BearNation
