Portsmouth, OH- A battle down to the final minute, (RV) Cumberlands women's basketball suffered their first loss of the season to #7 Shawnee State, 77-69 on Thursday afternoon. The Patriots move to 7-1 on the year and 3-1 in Mid-South play.
 
Ready to embrace the challenge of a top-ten team the Patriots got to business in the first quarter, out-scoring the Bears 25-19. Silvia Veloso gave UC their first lead of the game at the 5:43 mark with a jumper to put the Pats up 10-9. Minutes later, Hannah Lawson hit a shot from behind-the-arc to get Cumberlands started on a 9-1 run to extend their lead to seven. With five seconds remaining in the quarter, Veloso stole the ball from Bears' Brandie Snow and ran down court to sink a three as the buzzer went off.
 
Trying to keep their offensive momentum going, Abbi Douglas got UC on the board in the second quarter with a basket in the paint to keep the lead at 27-24. Shawnee State evened the score at the 4:46 mark, but a lay-up from Shelby Moore returned the lead to UC, 35-33. The Bears went on a 5-0 run to end the half, to go up 40-37 on the Patriots. Cumberlands held their opponent to 0-5 from behind-the-arc and 5-15 from inside.
 
Both team's defenses held strong in the first couple minutes of the third quarter, not allowing any points until Douglas hit a pair of free throws and a shot in the paint to shrink the Bears' lead to two. With 7:13 to go, Veloso hit the equalizer for the Pats making the score 43-43. Back-and-forth action ensued until the Patriots went on a five-point run over the next four minutes to regain the lead. Up by one in the final 30 seconds, SSU hit a pair of free throws to give themselves a 53-52 advantage ahead of the final quarter.
 
The fourth quarter opened with both teams exchanging baskets before Lawson hit a jump shot to put the Pats up 60-59 with 5:56 remaining. With the clock closing in on zero, Shawnee State scored on three consecutive possessions to improve to a four-point lead. The Bears closed out the game going 6-6 from the charity stripe to defeat the Patriots 77-69.
 
Vilma Covane led the team in points with 22 and added nine rebounds to the Pat's defense. Earning her second consecutive double-double, Veloso notched 15 points and 14 rebounds, also setting a new career-high for rebounds in a single game. Today's double-double is the fourth of Veloso's career. Adding to UC's strong showing were Carla Covane and Douglas, who added eight points and 11 rebounds and 11 points and three assists, respectively.
 
The Patriots take the court again in the new year on Saturday, January 2, when they come back to Randy Vernon Court to host #8 Thomas More. With tip-off set for 1:30pm, live stream will be available here, while live stats are available here.
 
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