ATHENS, Tenn. – The University of Pikeville outscored Tennessee Wesleyan University 43-27 in the second half to rally for a 73-65 road win on Saturday afternoon.
 
UPike trailed 38-30 at the half before the second half improvement.
 
The Bears improved to 7-4 on the season and remained 6-1 in conference play. The Bulldogs are 4-6.
 
Although the game was between two members of the Appalachian Athletics Conference, it will not count in the league standings. The closing of St. Andrews University at the end of the 2024-25 academic year created an unbalanced schedule, so the league decided to make one game non-countable.
 
For the Bears and Bulldogs, that game was Saturday.
 
The Bears shot 16 of 28 (57.14 percent) in the second half and hit 3 of 5 from three-point range. They were also 8 for 9 from the free throw line.
 
In the meantime, the defense improved substantially. After the Bulldogs shot 50 percent in the first half, they were 9 for 27 the final 20 minutes.
 
Sophomore guard Jaaliyah Warren hit four three-pointers on seven tries and finished with a team best 22 points. The Belfry product also had four rebounds and four steals.
 
Freshman guard Anika Stehbens followed with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. Freshman Sophie Adkins added 10 points to go with five rebounds and three steals.
 
Adkins led the Bears to a 23-10 scoring advantage off the bench. The Bears also outscored the Bulldogs 36-24 in the paint and 25-16 off turnovers.
 
Junior forward Rachel Bush had eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan was paced by Camryn Brown with 23, while Leslie Hames hit for 17. Both players hit three three-point shots and combined to go 6 for 6 from the line.
 
Talley Lawson had nine rebounds for the Bulldogs.
 
UPike will step out of the conference for the final two games of the pre-Christmas slate. Those games begin on Wednesday when the Bears travel to Portsmouth, Ohio, to face former league foe Shawnee State University.
 
The teams, who once shared membership in the Mid-South Conference, will tip off at 6 p.m.