Pikeville, Ky. – A powerful second-half effort pushed the Bears over Midway Saturday afternoon by a final score of 76-71. The Bears trailed by as much as 14 early in the second half but outscored the Eagles 44-27 in the final 20:00.

UPIKE was led by sharpshooter Bailey Frazier, whose three shots from deep in the fourth quarter carried the Bears' momentum. Frazier finished with a season-best 20 points, connecting on four of five from beyond the arc. The senior also added seven rebounds and a pair of assists.

Allie Stone continued to showcase her talent, finishing with 11 points, nine of which came in the second half. Hailey Free hit four of seven shots to total 10 points, while Morgan Stamper and Katie Collopy finished with eight points.
Sierra Feltner's eight assists is the most of any Bear this season and she finished with seven points. Abby Adkins may have had a quiet game on the stat sheet but her defensive presence after a second-half adjustment from Coach Williams was critical. 
Adkins helped hold Midway to just 1-6 from deep in the second half, facilitating UPIKE's comeback.

The Bears shot 50% from the floor as a team, taking a slight edge over Midway, who shot 49%. UPIKE also claimed the advantage in second-chance points led by Stamper with four offensive boards.

Over the first seven minutes and change, Midway claimed a slight 15-13 advantage in the back-and-forth affair. Midway led by as much as seven in the quarter, but UPIKE remained within a possession after 10:00 played.

Midway scored 12 in the first six minutes of the second, holding the Bears to six as momentum shifted in favor of the Eagles. Collopy led the Bears in the second, offering an impressive nine minutes that included a three-pointer and a jumper; she also grabbed three boards in the span. After 20 minutes played, the Eagles carried a 42-32 lead into the break.

At the 7:15 mark in the third, Midway's Jalyn Jackson connected on a layup which made it 50-36, the Eagles' largest lead of the game. The Bears fired out of a timeout, launching a 10-2 run that took less than three minutes, sparked by a three from Collopy. UPIKE maintained the momentum through the rest of the period and trailed by just five heading into the fourth.

Feltner powered through the lane for an and-one, putting the Bears within one possession and poised to take the lead. After a steal from Free on the next possession, Frazier splashed a Feltner-assisted three which, which gave the Bears their first lead since the opening quarter. UPIKE continued to fight in the following minutes, led by Frazier who scored eight points. With 3:16 to go, Midway threatened after a free throw brought them within one, making it 67-66 UPIKE. The Eagles finally forced a turnover and tied the game at 71 with 1:39 to play.  

Frazier answered with a three on the next possession to keep the Bears on top, before icing the cake with the final two free throws in the last 10 seconds.  

The Bears head back into conference play on a three-game win streak after Saturday's defeat of Midway. Coach Williams' squad returns to Pikeville on Thursday, December first for a 5:30 PM tip-off against (24) University of the Cumberlands in the UPIKE Gym.