Pikeville, KY – In a back-and-forth contest that saw the Patriots overcome a ten-point deficit early in the second quarter, UC would show its persistence and drive late into the game as Cumberlands would pull away for an 89-73 win over Wilberforce University on Saturday. The victory keeps the Patriots undefeated with a 4-0 record overall on the season.
 
The first quarter was like that of a boxing match with both teams trading blows. Although Wilberforce would hold a five-point lead with two minutes left in the quarter, the Patriots would overcome and tie the game up 19-19 heading to the second. There, the Bulldogs would come out quickly to build a ten-point lead with a 15-5 run in the first three minutes of the quarter to go ahead 34-24. Silvia Veloso and the Patriots then decided to make a run of their own, steadily climbing back into the game. Veloso would take over late in the half, scoring seven of their last nine points in the half to take a 43-41 lead into the break.
 
In the third quarter, the two teams would again trade blows back and forth as UC would be able to only pull away slightly with a 64-60 advantage after three quarters of play. In the fourth, Cumberlands would take over the contest. As the Patriots would begin to slowly increase the lead over the final quarter of action, it was the final five minutes where Cumberlands made their largest strides in the game, going on a 14-5 run to end the game with a 16-point win.
 
Carla Covane would record her first double-double of the season in the win with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Veloso chipped in with 16 points to go with seven steals and four rebounds. Reagon Begole and Vilma Covane each added 11 points in the win. Hannah Lawson tallied eight points as well to go with seven assists.
 
Wilberforce was led on the day by Nia McCormick with 25 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Patriots shot an impressive 51.7% from the floor in the win including 53.3% from deep and 19-26 (73.1%) from the free throw line. UC took advantage down low, scoring 46 points in the paint while also taking advantage of 22 Wilberforce turnovers, scoring 31 points off those turnovers.
 
UC returns to action for an exhibition contest on Tuesday, October 29^th as they travel to face Tennessee Tech University at 5:30 PM. The Patriots' next countable contest will be at home on Friday, November 1^st as they host Montreat College. Tip-off slated for 11 am.
 
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