HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - UPIKE women's basketball opened the 2024-25 season with an exhibition game against the Marshall Thundering Herd Sunday evening.
India Blyth opened the scoring for the Bears with a pair of made three-pointers, then Allie Stone drained a three and connected on a jump shot. Later in the first quarter, Katie Collopy made an excellent pass to Rachel Bush, who made a layup to put UPIKE ahead 17-16. Marshall closed out the opening quarter on a 13-5 run and led 29-21 after one.
The second stanza opened with a pair of made threes by Blyth, cutting MU's lead to 31-27. Blyth hit another jump shot before the Herd went on a 7-0 run. The first half ended with a layup by Bush and the Herd led the Bears 47-37 after 20.
India Blyth led the Bears with 14 first-half points after going 4-7 from beyond the arc. Rachel Bush and Allie Stone had seven points each. Stone also had three assists. UPIKE shot 42.9% from the field in the first half and 37.5% from beyond the arc.
The second half began with a three-pointer from Stone on the Bears' opening possession. Later, Jaidy Mejia-Andrade made an excellent move on an inbound play to cut Marshall's lead to ten, then drew a foul on a rebound on MU's next possession. Marshall pulled away late in the third but Mackenzie Maynard ended the third with a jumper. Marshall led 68-54 after three.
Stone sunk a three to open the scoring in the game's final stanza. A few minutes later, Mejia-Andrade knocked down a jumper and a layup to put UPIKE within seven points. With just under 4:30 to play, Jaaliyah Warren knocked down a three to make it 77-71. Stone drew a shooting foul on the Bears' next possession to cut the Herd's lead to four.
Marshall hit a pair of threes to go ahead by ten, but the Bears continued to battle. Mejia-Andrade hit a layup in the final minute. Marshall would go on to win the exhibition match by a final count of 87-77.
Four Bears finished in double figures, led by Allie Stone with 18 points. Stone finished 6-9 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc. Also in double figures were India Blyth with 16, Jaidy Mejia-Andrade with 14, and Rachel Bush with 13. Mejia-Andrade also led the Bears with eight rebounds. For the game, the Bears shot 48.4% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc.
Next up for Coach Clifton Williams' squad is their regular season opener November 5th at Lindsey Wilson. Tip-off for UPIKE and LWC is set for 6:00 p.m. in Columbia, Ky.
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