Williamsburg, KY – Patriots women's basketball took on No. 7 Shawnee State at home Saturday afternoon, falling 72-64 after a fourth quarter surge from the Bears. The loss evens the Patriots at 4-4 in conference play and 16-5 overall while the Bears improve to 19-3, 6-2 in the MSC.

Reagan Begole led the Patriots offensively, racking up a career high 18 points on 7-16 shooting from the field and 3-5 from three. Abbi Douglas and Vilma Covane managed double figures as well, scoring 14 and 10, respectively.

The two squads traded buckets for the opening minutes of the first quarter as SSU would lead by as much as three before a Hannah Lawson jumper from deep at the 5:59 mark tied the game 9-9. Shawnee State led 13-11 with 3:31 to go before Begole would tie the game once again with a jumper, making it 13 all. The Bears closed the quarter out with an 8-0 run to lead 23-19 heading into the second.

It was all Shawnee State for the first five minutes of the second quarter, as the Bears would go up by nine via a deep three with 5:16 to go. The Patriots, sparked by a Megan Morton three pointer, launched a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to make it 32-30 with 2:00 to go. Shawnee State swung momentum back in their favor, going up by five to lead 39-34 at the end of the first half.

A field goal by Vilma Covane followed by a pair of free throws by Carla Covane in the opening 2:30 of the third quarter brought the Patriots within one. Later, UC found themselves down by five at the 4:00 mark until a field goal by each of the Covane sisters on the next two possessions made it 45-44. After battling for the better part of two minutes, Begole splashed a three with 1:15 left in the corner to give the Patriots their first lead of the half at 51-49. Begole then hit a free throw before drilling a half court three pointer at the buzzer to make it a 55-51 Patriots lead going into the final quarter.
 
Neither team would lead by more than two in the first three minutes of the final period and with 7:00 left to play it was knotted up at 60. The Bears went on a 5-0 run in the following minutes to lead 65-60 with 4:30 remaining in the game. SSU's defense limited the Patriots comeback effort late in the fourth, as UC wouldn't lead for the remainder of the period, ultimately falling 72-64.

Cumberlands shot 31.9 percent from the floor on 23-72 while going 7-17 from three for 41 percent. The Patriots were outrebounded by the Bears 44-35.

The Patriots look to bounce back next week as they step out of conference play to take on Carver college on Thursday, January 30^th. Tip-off from Randy Vernon Court is slated for 7PM.