Williamsburg, KY – The Patriots women's basketball team battled back in the fourth quarter, however, fell to #25 Spring Arbor 84-66 Thursday evening inside the Rollins Center. With the win, the Cougars improve to 4-0 on the year, while the Patriots move to 3-2.
Abby Varney, who was making her Patriot debut, led the way with 18 points, going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, while adding four steals and four assists.
Noel Smith tied her career-high netting 12 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists, while
Addison Terry provided a spark off the bench with nine points on three triples.
Eulalia Powell finished with a team-high eight rebounds.
Spring Arbor jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, before Varney connected with
Riley Rarick on the wing for a three-pointer. The Cougars went on a 6-2 lead, before Rarick drained another shot from long-range cutting the deficit to 13-8 with 1:21 remaining. The two teams traded baskets as UC trailed 16-10 after the first quarter.
The Patriots began to chip away early in the second quarter as
Gracie Clark and Jaydyn C Carrico knocked down a trio of free-throws, cutting the deficit to 16-13, two minutes into the period. Spring Arbor responded with seven straight points, but
Gracie Clark scored inside to halt the run cutting the deficit to 23-15. Smith provided an offensive spark, scoring eight points over the next several minutes, including four consecutive baskets that brought Cumberlands within five at 28-23. The Cougars closed the half with nine unanswered points, however, taking a 37-23 advantage into the locker room.
Cumberlands came out of halftime looking to cut into the deficit as Varney converted two free throws to open the third quarter. Spring Arbor answered with an 11-2 run to extend its lead to 48-27 before Carrico sank a pair of free throws.
Aden Clark connected from beyond the arc to make it 50-33 with just over five minutes remaining in the period. The two teams traded baskets before Terry caught fire from deep, connecting on back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to 56-39. A minute later, Varney came away with a steal and finished at the rim before UC connected on three free throws, trimming the deficit to 59-44 heading into the fourth.
Cumberlands carried that momentum into the final quarter as Terry connected on her third three-pointer to make it 59-47. Varney followed with a jumper before Smith finished inside to cut the deficit to 60-51 with just under eight minutes remaining. The two teams traded points until Varney drilled a three and came away with a steal that led to a layup, bringing UC within seven at 67-60 with 5:34 remaining. That was the closest UC came as Spring Arbor went on a 15-4 run to extend their lead to 82-64. Both teams hit a jumper in the closing minute for the 84-66 final
The Patriots converted 21-of-24 free throws for an 87.5% free throw percentage in the game.
Cumberlands returns to action Friday, November 6, when the Patriots host Milligan University at 11 a.m. Live video is available
here.
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