Portsmouth, OH – Patriots women's basketball fell to ninth-ranked Shawnee State 75-55 on Thursday evening following a dynamic offensive showing from the Bears in the second half. The loss drops the Patriots to 6-7 in conference play and 19-8 overall. SSU improves its conference mark to 12-3, moving to 25-4 overall.
Vilma Covane's 13-point, 12 rebound double-double paces Patriots in her first appearance since February 6.
Silvia Veloso notches her fifth straight double-digit scoring performance, finishing with 13 as well.
Reagan Begole put the Patriots on the board early, scoring a layup in the opening minute that was followed by a
Hannah Lawson triple a minute later that gave UC a 2-5 lead. The Patriots would hold their lead until the 5:49 mark when SSU's Bethany Mackin splashed a three, making it 10-7. With 2:17 to go in the first quarter,
Vilma Covane made good on a second chance bucket to bring the Patriots within one before the Bears answered with a three on the following possession. A
Hannah Lawson three-pointer in the final seconds of the quarter would send the Patriots into the second trailing 21-18.
Shawnee went on a 7-2 run over the first three minutes of the second quarter to lead 27-20 with 6:56 to go. Veloso drained a pair of free throws followed by a
Vilma Covane bucket as the Patriots scored four-straight, bringing the game within five heading into the final 5:00 of the half. UC fell behind as the Bears stretched their lead in the final three minutes, thanks in part to a trio of buckets from Carson Roney, sending the teams into the break with Shawnee leading 39-28.
Veloso and
Carla Covane both made good on layups in the opening two minutes of the second half, answered both times by the Bears who maintained their lead. The Patriots outscored the Bears 7-6 in the first five minutes of the third before back to back threes gave Shawnee a 13-point lead with 4:30 to go. UC battled in the final minutes of the quarter but fell victim to the high-octane offense of the Bears, heading into the final quarter trailing 55-42.
Shawnee State's defense stifled the Patriots for the opening three minutes of the final period. UC wouldn't get their first bucket until Veloso made good on a jumper with 7:12 to play, making it a 61-43 SSU lead. The Bears secured their largest lead of the game heading into the final five minutes of the contest, leading 71-51 with 5:06 remaining. UC connected on a three via Jasmine flowers with 2:00 to go but were unable to mount a comeback, falling by a final score of 75-55.
Patriots women's basketball return to action on Saturday, February 22, as they travel to Pikeville to take on the Bears. Tip-off from the East Kentucky Expo Center is slated for 2 PM.
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