Williamsburg, KY – The #24 Patriots women's basketball team battled the top-ranked Thomas More Saints and couldn't overcome a 14-point run as they fell 83-64 Saturday afternoon on Randy Vernon Court.  The Saints improve to 21-0 overall and 15-0 in conference play, while the Patriots move to 16-5 and 10-5 against the MSC.

Kassie Monday led the way for UC with 14 points and two assists, while Destiny Haworth, Lakin Burke, and Amerah Steele chipped in nine points each.  Burke scored seven of her nine points in the first quarter, while added two assists and two rebounds.  Victory Fredricks grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and three blocks as Kaylie Monday added seven boards, four points, and a steal.

The Patriots struck first as Victory Fredricks grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back for the first bucket of the game.  Lakin Burke added three more points as Thomas More even the score at 5-5 with 6:39 remaining.  UC responded with layups from Kassie Monday and Kaylie Monday to extend the lead to 9-5 midway through the first quarter.  Thomas More hit a trio of three-pointers, before Kassie Monday found Lakin Burke in the post for a layup cutting the deficit to 14-11.  Burke and Whitney Caldwell scored the final four UC points as Thomas More took a 20-15 lead.

Kassie Monday netted five of the first seven points of the second quarter before Fredricks found Channing Lewis for a layup to even the score at 22-22 with 7:47 remaining.  Thomas More added five unanswered points, before Kaylie Monday found Burke down low for a layup.  The Saints added six unanswered points, over a two-minute span, to extend their lead to 35-26.  The Patriots responded as Destiny Haworth drained a pair of three-pointers to cut it to 35-32 with 1:35 remaining, however, Thomas More took a 38-32 lead into the break.

The Saints opened the third quarter with four points over the first two minutes, before Kassie Monday drained a jumper to make it 42-34.  A minute later, Amerah Steele found Kassie Monday for a triple, which sparked a 5-0 run as Cumberlands cut the deficit to 45-39 with 6:45 left in the third quarter.  The two teams traded baskets over the next four minutes, before Burke found Kaylie Monday for a layup to make it 53-45 with 2:33 remaining.  Thomas More closed out the quarter on a 5-3 run to take a 60-48 advantage.

Steele converted back-to-back jumpers in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to make it 62-52.  Thomas More scored 14 unanswered points, over a 3:36 span, to extend their lead 76-52. On the next UC possession, Haworth found Steele behind the arc as she drained the shot to make it 76-55 with 4:10 left.  Casey Coleman, Jaiden Cox, and Joy Kendrick found their way into the scoring column as Thomas More held on for the 83-64 final.

UC will return to the court Thursday, January 26, when they travel to McKenzie, TN to face Bethel.  Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. with live video available here.

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