Pulaski, TN – Channing Lewis tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season to lead the (RV) Patriots women's basketball team to a 70-55 win over UT Southern Thursday night.  With the win, UC improves to 10-3 overall and 5-3 in conference play.  The win is also Cumberlands 200^th Mid-South Conference victory in program history.

Lewis was one of five Patriots in double-figures as Destiny Haworth converted 5-8 from long range to finish with 15 points, while she tied her season-high with five rebounds.  Lakin Burke added 12 points and four rebounds, while Kassie Monday recorded 11 points, seven assists, and four boards.  Kaylie Monday chipped in ten points, five rebounds, and a pair of steals in the win. 

Cumberlands came out strong with five straight points as Kassie Monday won the opening tip and quickly found Destiny Haworth for a three-pointer.  Kaylie Monday found Victory Fredricks in the paint on the next possession to put UC in front 5-0. Channing Lewis grabbed three defensive rebounds before added a layup to put Cumberlands in front 7-0 with 7:03 remaining in the opening quarter.  Two minutes later, Kassie Monday connected with Destiny Haworth for her second three-pointer extending the lead to 11-2 midway through the first quarter.  UT Southern closed out the quarter on a 10-3 run to cut the Patriots lead to 14-12.

UT Southern takes the lead just over a minute into the second quarter, however, UC responds as Kassie Monday finds Lakin Burke in the paint for a layup.  Two minutes later, Kassie Monday find Haworth behind-the-arc for her third triple of the game putting the Patriots in front 19-17 with 6:36 left. After the Firehawks tied the score, Cumberlands scored five unanswered points, including a three-pointer from Haworth, to make it 24-19 midway through the quarter.  Lewis scored seven straight points, including a and pair of putbacks, to give UC a 31-21 advantage heading into the break.

The Patriots open the third quarter as Kassie Monday intercepted a pass before Lewis connected with Kaedlee Potter for a layup to make it 33-21. The Patriots utilized a 9-0 run, which included four points from Burke and capped off with a Haworth three to make it 42-25 midway through the third period.   The two teams traded baskets over the next three minutes until Kaylie Monday hit a pull-up jumper to give UC a 51-36 edge with 2:05 left.  The Firehawks went on a 6-5 run to close out the quarter, however, UC took a 56-42 lead into the fourth quarter.

UT Southern opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 58-51 with 6:20 left.  The Firehawks came within six points, before Kassie Monday found Burke in the paint for layup to make it 61-53 with 4:43 remaining.  That assist was Monday's seventh assists of the game, while Burke hit double-figures in four of the last five games.  The score remained that way for a minute until Kaylie Monday tallied two steals, one which she took for a layup to push Cumberlands lead back to ten points.  UC converted seven free throws over the final three minutes for the 70-55 final.

The Patriots return to the court Saturday, December 17, when they stay in the Volunteer State and travel to Lebanon, TN to face (RV) Cumberland.  Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. EST with live video available here.

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