Williamsburg, KY- Having lost their last matchup against the Bears, the (RV) Cumberlands women's basketball team made sure to get their revenge on Monday night, defeating Pikeville with a score of 67-55 at home. The Patriots improve to 8-2 on the year and 4-2 in Mid-South play. This marks the fourth-straight year the Pats have won eight of their first ten games of the season.
 
Featuring a brand-new lineup for the game, UC scored on their first two possessions with baskets from both Addison Wilson and Raegan Hubbard. Going basket for basket with Pikeville over the next several minutes, a layup from Carla Covane evened the score at 10-10 with 3:16 remaining. The Bears managed to end the quarter on a 7-2 run, to give themselves a 17-12 advantage over the Patriots.
 
Silvia Veloso opened the second quarter for the Pats, scoring the first three points for her team and bringing the score to 21-15 at the 7:49 mark. Seconds later, Reagan Begole was fouled as she went up to score a basket, but still managed to put the ball in the net, earning herself a free shot at the charity stripe. Begole hit nothing but net and came away with a successful three-point play to bring Cumberlands within one point of Pikeville's lead. A hard-fought basket from Olivia Federle came at 4:33 mark to give UC their first lead of the second quarter, up 25-23. The Bears scored again on the ensuing possession but none other than Federle responded with a bucket in the paint to keep Cumberlands' lead. As the half came to a close, Begole and Hannah Lawson combined for four points to extend the Patriots lead to 35-29 as they headed into the locker room.
 
A pair of baskets from Pikeville in the opening minutes of the third quarter shrunk the UC's lead to two, but a jumper in the paint from Veloso made it a two-possession game again. Midway through the quarter, C. Covane was fouled by Pikeville guard Brianna Burbridge to earn a chance at tying the game. Sinking the first of her two shots, C. Covane tied to game up at 38-38 with just under five minutes remaining. In the final 3:55 of play, Cumberlands scored nine points, highlighted by a long three from Lawson to bring the score to 47-40 ahead of the final quarter.
 
Patriots' defense held the Bears scoreless in the first minute of play, while standout Freshman Channing Lewis hit her shot to extend UC's lead to eight. Checking in for her first time of the night, Kaylee Mathis took full advantage of her moment and scored on her first shot. The insurance basket from Mathis improved Cumberlands' lead to 12 with two minutes remaining. The final shot of the game came from Abbi Douglas in the form of a free-throw, to give the Patriots to 67-55 victory.
 
Scoring a team-high 12 points and seven rebounds, C. Covane played an integral role in the Patriots' win. Veloso and Lawson each added ten points, with Veloso also chipping in an impressive seven assists and seven rebounds. The seven rebounds for Veloso ties her current career-high, which she set last year against Lindsey Wilson. Vilma Covane, Douglas, and Begole combined for six steals. Also having a career day was Federle, who tied her current high for assists in a game with seven.
 
The Patriots return to Randy Vernon Court this Thursday, January 7^th to take on conference newcomer and 24^th-ranked Bethel Wildcats. Tip-off set for 5:30pm, live stream will be available here, while live stats are available here.
 
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