Williamsburg, KY – The UC women's basketball team drained eight first-half three-pointers, while shooting 60% from the field in the fourth quarter to defeat Bethel 77-71 in an MSC showdown Tuesday night on Randy Vernon Court.  The Patriots, who improved to 11-6 overall and 5-4 in conference play, took the lead midway through the opening quarter and never looked back.

Kassie Monday was one of four Patriots in double-figures and finished with a team-high 21 points and seven assists in the contest.  Abbi Douglas netted 12 of her 13 points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds, which tied her career-high.  Kaylie Monday and Destiny Haworth chipped in 12 points apiece, while Channing Lewis added eight points and six rebounds.

A pair of layups from Douglas and Lewis give the Patriots a 4-0 lead to open the game.  Bethel went on a 7-2 run, before Lewis grabbed an offensive rebounds and finished at the rim to put UC back in front 8-7 with 6:21 remaining.  Cumberlands added three pointers by Douglas and Whitney Caldwell to take a 14-11 lead two minutes later.  After the Wildcats went on a 4-1 run over the next three minutes, Kassie Monday found Haworth from deep to put UC in front 18-15 as the Patriots improved to 3-3 from behind-the-arc in the game.  The teams traded points as Shelby Moore hit a jumper in the closing seconds to give Cumberlands a 22-18 edge.

The Patriots opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run that including triples from Doulas and Kassie Monday to extend UC's lead to 32-20 with 7:02 left.  Bethel went on an 8-2 run to cut into the led, however, Kassie Monday hit back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead back to ten at 40-30 with 2:10 remaining.  The Wildcats utilized an 8-2 run in the final minute before Kassie Monday dished it to Kaylie Monday for three-pointer putting UC in front 45-38 at the break. 

Kassie Monday continued her strong play into the third quarter as she converted a three-point play just over a minute in.  Bethel went on a 12-3 run, that spanned five minutes, until a Haworth three sparked a 6-0 run for UC to extend their lead to 58-50 with 2:08 left.  The Wildcats closed the quarter on a 7-0 run cutting the lead to 58-57 heading into the fourth period.

The Patriots found their offensive rhythm in the quarter as Douglas found Lewis on a backdoor cut for layup before Kaylie Monday hit from deep to push the lead to 63-57 just over a minute in.  The two teams traded baskets over the next four minutes as Haworth drained a three-pointer to give UC a 70-63 edge midway through the quarter.  Bethel scored five unanswered, however, Kassie Monday led the Patriots response with a three-pointer to make it 73-68 with 2:35 left.  Cumberlands hit four from the charity stripe down the stretch and Kaylie Monday made a steal to close the game for the 77-71 final.

Cumberlands dished out 18 assists in the game and finished 12-21 (57.1%) from behind the arc.

UC returns to the court Thursday, January 20, when they host Life at 6 p.m.  The Patriots defeated the Running Eagles earlier this season and live stats of the game is available here and live video available here.

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