Williamsburg, KY – Patriots women's basketball picked up conference win number three Saturday afternoon, defeating Life University 86-72 in a high intensity matchup on Randy Vernon Court. The win puts the Patriots at 15-2 on the season, improving to 3-1 in conference play.

Reagan Begole highlighted the scoring attack for the Patriots in her career-high 17 points en route to her first career double-double as the freshman also grabbed 10 rebounds. Vilma Covane notched her seventh double-double of the season, putting up 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

A three pointer by Hannah Lawson followed by a pair of field goals from Begole pushed the Patriots out to a 7-3 lead in the opening two minutes of the first quarter. Thanks to a three pointer, the Running Eagles would come within two with 5:40 to play making it 12-10 before an Addison Wilson's three sparked a 7-0 run from UC. The Patriots did not allow a field goal from the Running Eagles over the last three minutes, heading into the second quarter with a 24-15 lead.

Neither team would score for two minutes in the second quarter until Begole hit from beyond-the-arc to end the drought. With six minutes to go in the half, the Patriots stretched their lead to 32-22 following an 8-4 run. UC would lead by as much as 15 points for the remainder of the quarter, thanks in part to a pair of buckets from Carla Covane and another three for Begole.

The Patriots opened up the third period with a 43-29 lead before Vilma Covane drained three shots, over a three minute span, to make it 49-31 with six minutes left in the period. Life pulled together a string of successful possessions in the final 3:30, but couldn't bite into the Patriots lead. The Running Eagles managed an 8-2 run in the final two minutes as the Patriots entered the final quarter with a 63-52 lead.

Silvia Veloso splashed a deep three in the first minute of the fourth followed by a pair of free throws via Abbi Douglas that gave the Patriots a 68-55 lead with 7:50 to go. The teams played close over the next few possessions with Life going on an 8-5 run stretching into the final four minutes. Life would come as close to within six with 3:30 to go but the Patriots would outscore the Running Eagles 12-4 in the final three minutes with Vilma Covane, Douglas and Begole all contributing points to seal the 86-71 victory.

The Patriots managed a 51% mark from the field while going 8-17 from deep and connecting on 18 of 23 free throws.

Cumberlands women's basketball will hit the road next week, continuing Mid-South Conference play against top-ranked Campbellsville. Tip-off between the Patriots and Tigers is slated for 6PM on Thursday, January 16^th from Powell Athletic Center in Campbellsville, KY. Live stats for the matchup will be available here, with video stream here. 

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter - @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram - @UCPatriots, SnapChat - @UC_Patriots, YouTube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.