Box Score Pikeville, KY – Patriots women's basketball fell to Pikeville 72-66 on Saturday afternoon after struggling to consistently connect from the field The loss drops the Patriots to 6-8 in conference play and 19-9 overall. UPike improves its conference mark to 6-9, moving to 16-13 overall.

Silvia Veloso's 27-point performance paced the Patriots, while she also notched six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Carla Covane was the other scorer in double figures, dropping 14 points and adding four rebounds.

With 7:45 left to play in the first, Silvia Veloso splashed a triple to give the Patriots a 5-4 lead, their first of the ballgame. Veloso and Reagan Begole both added threes in the next few minutes, growing the Patriots lead to as much as seven. UPike closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run, tying the Patriots at 13-13 heading into the second quarter.

The game remained a one possession ballgame for the first four minutes of the second period as UPike would tie the game up on two different occasions.

With 4:08 to go in the half, Veloso scored seven straight points via a layup and a pair of threes that stretched the Patriots lead to seven, making it 30-23 with 3:30 to go. Addison Wilson splashed a triple with 1:15 remaining before UPike made another run to close the quarter trailing by just one with the score at 33-32.

The Bears took their first lead since the first quarter with a Kayla Mullins layup followed by a free throw that gave them a 35-33 lead at the 9:01 mark in the third. The Patriots would regain the lead at the 4:06 make by way of Veloso free throws and a layup by Abbi Douglas that gave the Patriots the 41-40 lead. UPike closed out the third quarter leading 49-47 after matching the Patriots possession for possession.

Vilma Covane tied the game with a free throw a minute and a half into the fourth making it 49 all. UPike held onto the lead for the next four minutes, answering the Patriots on each make before Carla Covane tied the game once again at 55 with a free-throw at the 6:05 mark. Pikeville went on a 11-3 run over the next three minutes, making it a 66-58 deficit heading into the final 3:30. The Bears capitalized from the free throw line and added a pair of threes to close out the contest, defeating the Patriots 72-66.  

Patriots women's basketball return to action on Thursday, February 27, as they return home to take on the Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson. Tip-off from Randy Vernon Court is slated for 6 PM.

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