Williamsburg, KY – Behind a strong second quarter defensive stand, the (RV) Patriots women's basketball team defeated Martin Methodist 65-54 Thursday night, at Randy Vernon Court. With the win, Cumberlands moves to 12-3 overall and 8-3 in the MSC, while the Redhawks are now 3-5 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
Leading all UC scorers was Carla Covane with 16 points, nine rebounds, and one block, while Abbi Douglas put up nine points, two rebounds, and three steals. Vilma Covane also contributed eight points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks.
The first quarter started well for the Patriots as they went on an 8-2 run capitalized by an offensive board and put back by C. Covane with only 7:10 remaining. Following a series of subs by UC, Hannah Lawson laced a beautiful pass to V. Covane for the bucket to widen the Cumberlands lead to 10-6 with 5:17 remaining. After a 4-0 run by the Redhawks, the Patriots came back with some transition offense following a block and a bucket by V. Covane that enlarged the UC lead to 14-10. Martin Methodist Faith Sherrow hit a jumper in closing seconds off the quarter to shorten the Cumberlands lead to 14-12.
A slow offensive start by both teams led to very little scoring at the start of the second, until Silvia Veloso downed a pair of free throws to expand the Patriot lead to 18-15 with just 7:34 remaining in the second. After forcing a Redhawks turnover, Lawson made another great pass to Douglas to extend the UC lead to 20-15 with 6:52 remaining. Over the next three minutes, neither team scored until C. Covane was able to put two on the board for the Patriots with two made free throws. After the scoring drought, UC's offense seemed to awaken with back-to-back buckets made by C. Covane and Douglas that gave the Patriots their biggest lead of the game up until that point at 26-15 with 2:04 remaining. Cumberlands was able to close the half out with their own last-second shot by Douglas to make the score 28-17 at the end of the first half.
UC opened up the second half in a big way with a defensive steal that led to a basket made by C. Covane that expanded the UC lead to 30-17 with 9:06 left in the third quarter. Following a five-point swing by the Redhawks, the Patriots came back with a three-ball of their own by Destiny Haworth that stretched the Cumberlands lead to 33-22 with 5:40 remaining. After showing some tenacity on defense that lead to a Reagan Begole steal, the Patriots were able to bank a shot in to make the score 38-22 with 2:50 remaining in the quarter. UC closed the quarter out with an 8-6 run to maintain their lead at 46-28 with one quarter left in the ballgame.
After trading buckets with each other to start the fourth, the Patriots secured some offensive boards that led to another bucket by C. Covane that kept UC's lead at 50-35 with 8:31 left in the game. Following a series of substitutions made by UC, they were able to keep the ball alive with two offensive rebounds by Raegan Hubbard and Addison Wilson, and Wilson was rewarded with a basket of her own to widen the Patriot lead to 54-37 with 5:01 remaining. After a pair of Redhawk free throws were made by Taylor McNairy, Cumberlands came roaring back with a bucket by Hubbard that kept the UC lead at 60-41 with just 3:16 left in the fourth. However, the Redhawks would not lie down. During the last three minutes of the game, they went on a 13-5, but the Patriots were able to hold them off enough to walk away with the win. The final score in Williamsburg was 65-54.
The Patriots will face top-ranked Campbellsville University in Williamsburg on Monday, January 25. Tip-off for the game is at 5:30 pm with live stats available here and live video available here.
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