WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – Women's basketball fell to No. 20 University of the Cumberlands, 68-60, to finish its first conference weekend on the road with a split following its win on Thursday. The Patriots (7-5, 2-1 MSC) led by just four points with under seven minutes to play before they were able to distance themselves from the Bears (8-7, 1-3 MSC) late.
The Patriots got 28 points from Brooke Forsythe inside as she finished as the only player with 20 or more points in the game. The Bears had a trio players score in double figures that included a team-high 17 points from Alannah Sheets while Priscila Santos added 14 points and Diane Abbady added 13 points.
After being tied at three different points in the opening seven minutes, it was the Bears that took the game's first two possession lead. Trailing 13-11, Sheets hit a three to put the Bears up a point for the first time in the game. A basket and two more free throws by Tabby McKinney would put the Bears up five after the 7-0 run. They would lead by as many as six points on two separate occasions in the opening half.
Trailing 22-16 with 7:02 left in the half, UC would score 16 more points during that time while holding Shawnee State to just seven points during that span and took a 32-29 lead into the half. The Patriots would never relinquish that lead for the remainder of the contest.
A basket from Abbady to open the scoring in the second half would get the Bears within a point but the Patriots built their lead up to eight with five minutes gone by in the second half. The Bears made it a one possession game for the first time since their opening points in the second half as Santos' basket made it a 48-46 score with 10:08 to play.
However, a quick four points from the Patriots would put them up by six and they would never lead by less than four during the remainder of the contest. The final four-point deficit for the Bears came with 6:48 to play and SSU behind 54-50. However, UC put the game basically out of reach with a 9-0 run to go up by 13, 63-50, with 2:45 left in the game. The Bears were only able to get the game to a single digit deficit with 30 seconds left in the contest. They would cut the deficit to eight but that margin ended up being the final score, 68-60.
For the game, UC went 28-of-62 (45%) from the field while the Bears were 24-of-64 (37%). Although SSU held a slight 36-33 edge in rebounding, UC's defense forced 18 turnovers from the Bears, including nine steals. The Bears forced 15 turnovers and came away with six steals. McKinney finished the contest with a game-high 11 rebounds to help SSU's defensive efforts.
Women's basketball will have just one game next week as it has a full week to prepare for rival Rio Grande. The Bears and RedStorm will meet for the first time this season next Saturday at Rio Grande in 2 p.m. start time. The game will be followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.
