Georgetown, Ky. - Coach Clifton Williams' UPIKE Bears hit the road today and won 49-46 over their rivals from up the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway, the #22 Georgetown College Tigers.
It was a low scoring game from the start, with the Tigers and Bears combining for only three points in the first 3:23 of the game. Allie Stone got UPIKE on the board with a pair of free throws then Mary Englert hit a jumpshot to give UPIKE a 4-3 lead. After the Tigers took a 7-6 lead a few minutes later, the Bears went on an 11-3 run. The late run powered the Bears to a 17-13 lead after the first quarter.
Points were hard to come by for both teams in the early stages of the second quarter. Despite the Tigers' game-tying free throw, the Bears never trailed in the second. After GC tied the score at 17, the Bears went on a 9-2 run. Eight of the Bears' nine points during that run were scored in the paint. Allie Stone hit a three-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Bears a 29-23 halftime lead.
UPIKE only scored ten points in the third quarter but did get up by as much as ten. UPIKE's defense in the third quarter smothered the Tigers, who only took 12 shots and held GC to shooting 41% from the field. The Bears led 39-35 after the third quarter. Sierra Feltner played all ten minutes in the third quarter and had four points, two rebounds and a steal.
The fourth quarter began with Hailey Free hitting a jumper to put UPIKE up 41-35. Following Free's jumper, the Bears had a four minute scoring drought in which the Tigers went on a 7-0 run. The Bears, trailing 42-41 with 5:29 to go, returned the favor by holding the Tigers scoreless for the next four minutes while going on a 6-0 run. The game came down to the wire when Georgetown cut the lead to one with 0:20 remaining. Mary Englert then went to the free throw line and went 2-2 to go up 49-46 with 0:11 to play. UPIKE's lead held up after the Tigers missed a potential game-tying three pointer at the buzzer.
Mary Englert had a game-high 14 points and was second on the team with nine rebounds. Sierra Feltner was second in scoring with 11 points. Feltner also had three assists and two steals. Leading UPIKE in rebounds was Morgan Stamper, who had 12 rebounds on the day and now has a total of 94 on the year. Freshman Allie Stone led the Bears defense with three steals. Stone was also third in scoring with nine points.
UPIKE's record improves to 6-3 (4-2 MSC) following today's victory over the Tigers. Next up for the Bears is a Thursday evening trip up to Crestview Hills, Ky. to take on the top-ranked team in NAIA, the Thomas More Saints.
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