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Post by Press Release on Mar 12, 2013 16:38:43 GMT -5
West Virginia native new coach of women's basketball University of Pikeville Press Release
The new coach of women's basketball at the University of Pikeville has excelled in every aspect of college athletics, from her time as a player, an assistant coach and as a head coach. Joanna Bernabei-McNamee (pronounced Bern-uh-BEE Mac-Na-MEE), a native of Weirton, W.Va., was introduced to the media at a press conference on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. on the main campus. She is the seventh head coach in the history of the program which dates back to 1979 and is the second female to hold the position. “Joanna has a career pedigree that is rivaled by few in women's collegiate basketball,” said Dr. Reginald F. Overton, director of athletics at the University of Pikeville. “She and her family are first class and we look forward to having her join our Bear family and bring us back to national prominence.” Joanna was a four-time all-conference selection at West Liberty University (W.Va.), where she was an All-American and the 1997 Player of the Year in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. She pulled the rare feat of scoring 1,000 points and handing out 1,000 assists and holds the NCAA record of averaging 9.5 assists per game for a season. In four seasons at West Liberty, her teams compiled a record of 80-36. After spending a year as a graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky, from which she earned a master's degree in sports administration, she was the head coach for one season at West Virginia Wesleyan, where in the 1998-99 campaign she guided the Bobcats to an 18-9 record. After stints as an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia University, she was hired at Maryland in 2003 and was on staff during the national championship season of 2006 when the Terrapins beat Duke 78-75 in overtime for the title and finished with a record of 34-4. Serving as the recruiting coordinator, she assisted in signing back-to-back top-five ranked recruiting classes and three ranking in the top 10. In addition, she has coached four players who are currently in the WNBA. Joanna is married to Joe McNamee. The couple has two sons, Luke, 6, and Caden, 5.
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Post by Press Release on Nov 24, 2013 18:55:26 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden posts double-double in UPike win at St. Catharine University of Pikeville Press Release
Cheyenne Madden posted a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds to help the University of Pikeville women's basketball team win its Mid-South Conference opener at St. Catharine (Ky.) 86-72 on Thursday at Lourdes Hall. After an 0-3 start, the win gives first-year head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee her first win at UPIKE, coming when it counts in conference play. St. Catharine drops to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in the MSC with the loss. Brittany Swindall added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Kandice Porter added 10 points and three boards. The trio of post players in double figures helped the Bears overcome a stellar performance from the free throw line by the Patriots, hitting 18-of-20 attempts. Machera Calhoun led St. Catharine with 13 points and Kourtney Belcher added 12 points and five rebounds. UPIKE outshot the Patriots 48.4 to 36.9 percent from the field and controlled the glass 43-29. Swindall knocked down a jumper seven minutes into the first half to give the Bears an 11-6 lead. St. Catharine answered with a 5-0 run, including a three from Cora Moore to tie it up. The Patriots went on to build a 24-19 lead with 4:52 left in the half, but the back-and-forth style wasn't over as the Bears had another run left in the first 20 minutes. Down 26-21, UPIKE got a free throw from Courtney Haney and back-to-back threes from Christin Haney and Kelah Eldridge to go up 28-26. Christin Haney connected on a pair of free throws and Calhoun did the same for St. Catharine to make it 30-28 UPIKE at the break. St. Catharine stayed close to the Bears for the first six minutes of the second half, trailing by just three after a free throw by Rianne Hofstraat. But starting with a basket by Porter, UPIKE went on an 11-0 run over the next three minutes. Madden hit two free throws at the end of the run to make it a 56-42 UPIKE lead. Porter's layup with four minutes left had extended the lead to 20 at 75-55, but there was one more Patriot run for the Bears to overcome. Lexus Edwards, Heather Sandlin and Stacie Shrout all knocked down threes to help St. Catharine to a 10-0 run that sliced the 20-point lead in half. Luckily for UPIKE the Patriots cooled down and it outscored them 11-7 the rest of the way.
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Post by Press Release on Nov 27, 2013 8:06:37 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden posts double-double in UPike loss to Campbellsville University of Pikeville Press Release
Trailing by just five with under four minutes to play, the University of Pikeville women's basketball team couldn't stop the hot-shooting Angie Lawrence as her six 3-pointers helped No. 9 Campbellsville (Ky.) to a 76-62 win on Saturday at the Powell Athletic Center. Callisha Johnson tallied a game-high 28 points for Pikeville and Patrice Tonge and Cheyenne Madden added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Madden finished with a double-double with 14 rebounds, while Jayme Jackson dished out a game-high nine assists. Lawrence went 6-of-10 from behind the arc to finish with 22 points and Ellen Sholtes backed her up with 17. Campbellsville finished 9-of-19 from three, compared to a 1-of-6 performance by the Bears. UPIKE (1-4, 1-1 MSC) had trouble keeping the Tigers off the glass, losing the rebounding battle 51-40, including a 20-9 mark on offensive boards. It was a poor shooting night overall, with Pikeville hitting at 42.1 percent and Campbellsville hitting at a 32.4 percent clip. Utlizing a 2-3 zone to perfection at the start, the Bears cooled down the potent Campbellsville offense enough to take a 13-11 lead eight minutes in after a perfect pass from Kandice Porter to Patrice Tonge. The Tigers came in to the game averaging 98.6 points per game. Pikeville led 19-13 with less than 10 minutes until halftime, but Lawrence put together a 6-0 run by herself with a pair of threes to tie the score. Madden put the Bears back up 22-21 after a nifty pass from Jackson, but Lawrence was there with a deep ball once again. Lawrence scored her 12th point of the half with another three a minute later and the Tigers had their biggest lead yet at 30-24 with 4:57 left. The Tigers (6-0, 2-0) kept increasing their lead until it was 36-25, UPIKE answered briefly with a mini 4-0 run, but by halftime Campbellsville was still up 11 at 42-31 behind 16 points from Lawrence in just 12 minutes of action. Lindsey Burd hit a jumper in the paint to give Campbellsville a 4-0 run to open the second half. Down 46-31, the Bears put together a 10-2 run of their own to get back within single digits at 48-41 with over 12 minutes left. No matter how good things were going for Pikeville, it was still the 3-point shooting of Campbellsville that kept it in control. Sholtes hit one to make it 51-41, then after a Madden bucket, Lawrence hit her fifth three of the game to make it 54-43 at the 12-minute mark. UPIKE wouldn't go away as Johnson went coast-to-coast for an easy layup, finished a fast-break pass from Jackson and knocked down a runner in the paint to get the Bears within seven. The Tiger lead stayed in that seven-to-10 point range for the next five minutes. Looking to make one final push, Johnson sank a pair of free throws, then after a Tiger miss, converted a 3-point play to cut the Campbellsville lead to five with four minutes to play. Like clockwork, Lawrence was there again with another three and Allen finished a layup to bring Campbellsville's lead back to 10. Pikeville struggled to find any offense in the final stages of the game as Campbellsville finally went ahead for good with a 14-point lead at the end of regulation. UPIKE is off until 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 30 with a trip to Union College in Barbourville.
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Post by Press Release on Nov 30, 2013 20:52:12 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden has eight points and 12 boards in UPike 80-78 win over Union University of Pikeville Press Release
Down two with less than 10 seconds to play, Brogan Conley knocked down a deep 3-pointer to help the University of Pikeville women's basketball team beat Union (Ky.) 80-78 on the road on Saturday. Callisha Johnson led the Bears (2-4) with 13 points, Patrice Tonge and Kandice Porter added 12 and Kelah Eldridge chipped in with 10. Conley had nine points off the bench, finishing a perfect 3-for-3 from deep. Courtney Haney was productive, scoring nine points and grabbing eight rebounds, while Cheyenne Madden had eight points and 12 boards off the bench. Union's Haley Perkins poured in a game-high 22 points and Amber Taylor finished with 18. The Bears won the battle of the boards 41-36 and outshot Union from the field 47.6 to 41.5 percent. Union (6-3) hit four early threes to jump out to a four-point lead at 18-14, but Porter took over for the Bears. The freshman finished with 10 first-half points, including a fade-away jumper that gave UPIKE its first lead at 28-27 with 6:14 to go. Courtney Haney picked up the energy as well, getting loose for a backdoor layup, swiping a steal and drawing a block to help the Bears keep their lead at 34-30. Jayme Jackson helped UPIKE build a five-point lead at the break, 41-36, with a perfect full-court pass to Tonge off a turnover for a 3-point play. Six minutes into the second half, Johnson completed a 3-point play to give UPIKE its largest lead yet at 53-47. A three by Tonge two minutes later had the Bears up eight at 58-50. As quick as the Bears build a comfortable lead, the Bulldogs fought right back, going on a two-minute, 7-0 run to cut the Pikeville lead to one. The score stayed close for the rest of the game after Union tied it at 66-66 with 6:26 to play. The Bulldogs enjoyed their first lead of the half at 69-68, just before Johnson fouled out for the Bears with four minutes left. Down six with its leading scorer on the bench, UPIKE needed someone to step up and Conley provided the spark off the bench. Conley hit a three to cut the lead in half, while Tonge's free throws with under two minutes on the clock gave the Bears the lead again at 75-74. Two free throws from the Bulldogs with 14 seconds on the clock gave them the 80-78 lead before Conley hit the deep, clutch shot to earn the win. UPIKE is back in action at 5:30 p.m. ET on Monday at UVa.-Wise in Wise, Va. Union returns to Appalachian Athletic Conference play on Wednesday when it plays host to Tennessee Wesleyan at 5:30 p.m.
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Post by Press Release on Dec 4, 2013 12:25:46 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden leads UPike with 12 points and seven boards in loss to UVA-Wise University of Pikeville Press Release
Trailing by six with less than five minutes to play, UVa.-Wise went on a 12-0 run to get past the University of Pikeville women's basketball team 71-66 on Monday night at the Prior Center. Using a six-player rotation for all but six minutes, the Cavaliers were the epitome of a balanced team. Taylor Sandidge, Katie Jo Lester and Reyneshia Archer all scored 15 points, while Makenzie Cluesman chipped in with 14 and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Jayme Jackson and Cheyenne Madden paced Pikeville with 12 points each, while Cheyenne Madden had 12 points and seven boards and Kandice Porter tallied eight points and seven rebounds. All of Jackson's points came in the first half when she was 4 of 6 from behind the arc. UPIKE (2-5) shot just 39.7 percent from the field and didn't help itself with a 1-for-9 mark on threes in the second half. The long ball was there in the first 20 minutes as UPIKE hit five of its 12 attempts. UVa.-Wise connected on 45.8 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from three. The lead switched hands six times in the first half, although the Cavaliers (5-1) led by as many as seven points in the first six minutes. By hitting three of its first four shots, the Bears enjoyed a 7-6 lead with 16:35 left, but UVa.-Wise went on an 8-0 run to double up UPIKE over the next two minutes. Archer drove uncontested through the lane for four of the points before Madden's 3-point play ended the run. While chipping away at the lead over the nxt few minutes, UPIKE extended one possession with three straight offensive rebounds, allowing Brogan Conley to cut the deficit to two with a turnaround jumper. Kelah Eldridge followed that up with a three to put UPIKE back on top 18-17. The Bear's largest lead of the half came when Madden hit a jumper to make it 35-31, but the Cavs held close, going into halftime down by a single point at 39-38 after a basket by Brittany Swindall. It was never more than a two-possession game for the majority of the second half. The Bears reached their largest lead of the game at 63-57 on a pair of free throws by Johnson with 4:42 to play. UPIKE wouldn't score again for four minutes, until Patrice Tonge hit a three with 42 seconds left to make it a 71-66 Cavalier lead. Neither team scored again the rest of the way. The Bears are off until Saturday, hosting West Virginia Tech at 2 p.m. ET at the East Ky. Expo Center.
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Post by Press Release on Dec 8, 2013 5:38:43 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden has 10 points and 7 rebounds in UPike win over West Virginia Tech University of Pikeville Press Release
Seven players reached double figures as the University of Pikeville women's basketball team routed visiting West Virginia Tech 93-59 on Saturday afternoon at UPIKE Gym. Playing in the on-campus facility for the first time this season, the Bears liked the rims, shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from behind the arc. Patrice Tonge led UPIKE with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists. Callisha Johnson was next in line with 13 points, while three other Bears finished with 12 points each. The 93 points scored were a season high and the 59 points allowed were a season low for UPIKE. Nia Nolan led all scorers with 17 points for the Golden Bears, while Cheyanna Lusk had a game-high 10 rebounds and four points in the losing effort. West Virginia Tech (2-8) started strong, hitting two of its first three shots to take a 4-0 lead. Two minutes later the Bears got rolling as a layup by Tonge put them up 7-5 and they never trailed again with 16:51 left in the half. Nolan trimmed the Pikeville lead to just six at 15-9, but the Bears answered with a 6-0 run, including two free throws from Tonge and a jumper from Kandice Porter. The Golden Bears got as close as four points with 1:54 left until the break, but UPIKE scored the final 10 points to earn a 14-point lead at halftime. After starting the game just 1-of-7 on threes, UPIKE caught fire in the final 20 minutes, hitting 8-of-14 from deep to blow the game open. Jayme Jackson went 3-for-5 and Brogan Conley went 2-for-4 to score 12 points in just eight minutes of action in the second half. UPIKE soared ahead by 20 at 64-44 on a Jackson three with 10:06 left, then went on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes. The Bear's lead grew as high as 39 points on Conley's put back with two minutes to go. The Bears improve to 3-5 overall with the win and are back in action at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday at King University in Bristol, Tenn.
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Post by Press Release on Dec 13, 2013 14:54:28 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden has eight points and five rebounds as UPike falls to King University of Pikeville Press Release
Shooting just 23.7 percent from the field, the University of Pikeville women's basketball team lost at King (Tenn.) 63-51 on Thursday night. The Tornado weren't much better at 39 percent, but with the Bears struggling and being outrebounded 60-40, King was able to build a double-digit lead nine minutes into the first half and keep it for the majority of the game. Callisha Johnson led UPIKE (3-6) with 11 points as the only Bear in double figures in the low-scoring contest. Courtney Haney chipped in with four points and nine rebounds, while Cheyenne Madden had eight points and five rebounds and Kandice Porter tallied seven points and five boards. Kelly Jackson paced King (5-2) with 14 points and Chelsea Bowling added 11. Bonnie Durrett grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, while Alley Sprouse and Sydney Harris had 12 and 10 boards, respectively. The Bears did hit one more three than the Tornado with six and hit 9-of-11 free-throw attempts, but none of it could make up for the 18-of-76 performance from the field. Pikeville never led in the game as Jackson made a shot in the paint to put King up 2-0 and the Bears didn't get on the scoreboard until the 17:02 mark to make it 5-2. Six minutes later the Tornado led 17-5 which was the start of a 13-0 run that lasted nearly 10 minutes without a UPIKE point. The lead swelled to as many as 18 points for King before going into halftime with a 33-15 advantage. While the Tornado build their largest lead of 19 early in the second half, UPIKE trimmed the deficit to nine with a free throw from Porter with 11 minutes to play. King answered with a 13-4 run and once again the Bears were down by double figures for the remainder of the half. UPIKE is back in action at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, hosting Berea (Ky.) at the East Ky. Expo Center.
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Post by Press Release on Dec 15, 2013 21:36:35 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden scores 10 in UPIKE win over Alice Lloyd University of Pikeville Press Release
Callisha Johnson scored 18 points and dished out five assists to help the University of Pikeville women's basketball team rally past Alice Lloyd (Ky.) in the second half for a 78-70 win on Sunday at the East Ky. Expo Center. The win avenged a loss in the season opener for the Bears and puts them at 5-6 overall heading into Tuesday's 5 p.m., home tilt with Union (Ky.). Pikeville was in control early, gaining a 25-18 lead on a layup from Kandice Porter with nine minutes left in the first half. The Eagles bounced back though with a 6-0 run, ended by Ariel Nickell's jumper in the paint to make it 25-24 two minutes later. Nickell struck again with a 3-point play to give Alice Lloyd its first lead at 31-28 and it eventually went into halftime with a seven-point lead. The tandem of Nickell and Carla Booth couldn't be stopped as they finished the game with 28 and 24 points, respectively. Luckily for UPIKE, 21 of Nickell's points were scored in the first half as they keyed in on her to comeback in the second half. With added defensive intensity came an 8-0 spurt for the Bears out of the break. Less than two minutes into the half, UPIKE (5-6) had already taken a 43-42 lead on a layup from Johnson at the end of the run. Like good players tend to do, Booth stepped up for Alice Lloyd (6-6) and knocked down a pair of threes to put her team back up by five. The back-and-forth affair continued with Johnson and Patrice Tongue hitting back-to-back shots to put the Bears back up by one. It was at that point with less than 15 minutes to play that the tide turned for good as UPIKE went on a 13-0 run while attacking the rim and making three free throws to go up 60-50. Brogan Conley gave the Bears their largest lead of 12 points with a jumper off Johnson's assist with 7:22 left. The game didn't get interesting again until Nickell grabbed a rebound and went coast-to-coast to cut the deficit to five at 75-70. There was just over three minutes left at that point and Alice Lloyd never scored again as the Bears went 3-for-4 from the line over the final stages to collect the 78-70 win. Porter and Kelah Eldridge added 11 points each and Cheyenne Madden scored 10 for UPIKE. Porter also grabbed a team-best nine rebounds as the Bears posted just a 47-46 advantage on the backboards and blocked a game-high four shots. Amber Shepherd showed up late for Alice Lloyd to score seven points, while the high-scoring Nickell and Taylor Arthur both grabbed 10 rebounds. Pikeville shot the ball much better than Alice Lloyd, hitting 45.3 percent from the field compared to 29.2. Three-point shooting went in favor of the Eagles 30 to 27.3 percent. Booth had the hottest hand from outside, knocking down four threes.
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Post by Press Release on Jan 2, 2014 22:26:42 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden held to six points and four rebounds in UPike loss to Bluefield University of Pikeville Press Release
The University of Pikeville women's basketball team went scoreless over the final seven minutes to lose at Bluefield (Va.) 73-61 on Thursday night at The Dome Gymnasium. The Bears (6-8, 1-2 MSC) led 57-54 with 12:53 to play, but scored just four more points, allowing the Rams to use a 19-4 run to claim the win. Callisha Johnson scored a team-best 22 points for UPIKE, while Kandice Porter reached double figures as well with 14. Porter was the Bears' leader on the glass with nine rebounds. Teqa McNeal matched Johnson for the game-high with 22 points and Asia Wheeler chipped in with 18 for the Rams (6-5, 1-2 MSC). Wheeler also pulled down 11 boards. Rebounding was critical in the game as Bluefield collected 56 boards to UPIKE's 32, despite the Bears outshooting the Rams 41 to 36 percent. Johnson, who went 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from three, scored the team's last field goal with 6:53 on the clock. Bluefield opened up with a 1-2-1-1 press to speed up the Bears as Johnson had to do things on her own early with the first five UPIKE points. The Rams built a 13-7 lead in the first six minutes, but Johnson stayed hot with back-to-back threes to tie it up. The Bears went on top for the first time since 3-0 on a layup from Madden to make it 19-17. Tonge set the easy basket up with a drive into the paint to draw a double team. It was part of a 5-0 run that included four straight free throws from Johnson and Tonge. Another 5-0 UPIKE run starting at the 8:23 mark made it 26-20 as Courtney Haney finished a scoop shot in the paint and knocked down two free throws to extend the lead. Three pointers from Jade McDaniel and Tempestt Lewis proved to be the answer for the Rams as they took a 30-27 lead with 4:13 on the clock. Down 35-33, UPIKE scored six unanswered points with the help of back-to-back baskets by Porter and Tonge to build a 39-35 lead. McNeal helped the Rams fight back with a three in the final seconds to make it a 39-38 Bear lead at the half. Porter was in the zone to start the second half, scoring six straight to help UPIKE to its largest lead yet at 47-40 forcing Bluefield to burn a timeout with 17 minutes to play. Keeping up with the narrative of the game, the Rams stormed back, using five straight points from Whitney Smith to regain the lead at 59-57. Up to that point there had been four ties and nine lead changes in the closely contested league battle. Wheeler's layup with 9:54 to go gave the Rams their largest lead of the second half at 61-57. Kayla Day and Johnson led the comeback effort this time, finishing a pair of layups to cut the deficit to two. It would be Bluefield that took control in the final five minutes, scoring six straight points during a three and a half minute span to take a 69-61 lead with 2:36 left. McNeal was responsible for six of the points, going the distance for layups after UPIKE turnovers. The Bears just couldn't find the basket in the final stages of the game, going without a point for nearly seven minutes as Bluefield captured the 73-61 win. UPIKE returns to action at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday against Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at the East Ky. Expo Center.
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Post by Press Release on Jan 10, 2014 14:51:17 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden led comeback comes up short against Lindsey Wilson University of Pikeville Press Release
A seven-point Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) lead was cut to one in the final minute, but Cassidy Martin connected on a pair of free throws to help the Blue Raiders hold on against the University of Pikeville 79-76 on Thursday at the East Ky. Expo Center. Trailing 75-68 with less than a minute to play, Cheyenne Madden put back an offensive rebound and Callisha Johnson hit a three to make it a two-point game with 30 seconds left. Tara Arnold answered with a layup, followed by a three from UPIKE's Kelah Eldridge to get within one. Then the clock became an issue as there were only 0.3 seconds to play as Martin went to the line for the free throws. Down three, all Brogan Conley could do was throw a full court pass, but the horn sounded as soon as it was deflected by a Lindsey Wilson player. Conley paced the Bears (6-9. 1-3 MSC) with a season-high 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Madden, Eldridge and Johnson all pitched in with 10 points each. Eldridge also dished out a game-high six assists. For Lindsey Wilson (13-4, 3-2 MSC), Kayla Richardson led the way with 17 points, followed by Arnold with 13 and Martin with 12. Chanel Roberts led the backboards with eight rebounds although the Blue Raiders were beat on the glass 49-38. Pikeville shot just 36.9 percent for the game, compared to 50.8 for Lindsey Wilson. Both teams hit six 3-pointers and the Blue Raiders hit just one more field goal. The different came down to the free-throw line, where the Blue Raiders had five more makes. UPIKE controlled the offensive glass early on, at one point getting five rebounds on one possession, but the problem was getting a shot to fall. The Bears finished with a dominant 25-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. Lindsey Wilson took advantage of the poor shooting to go up 12-8 on Elder's layup and kept the lead until a rebound and jumper from Christin Haney put the Bears up 20-19 with 9:24 left in the half. The Bears never trailed the rest of the half, but tallied a biggest lead of just four points at 29-25 on a three from Conley. In the final 20 seconds of the half, Courtney Haney hit a shot from the corner and Arnold answered with a three on the other end to send the teams into the break tied at 35. The first five minutes of the second half belonged to the Blue Raiders, opening up with an 11-2 run to lead 46-37 after a shot from Kayla Richardson in the paint with 15:20 to play. UPIKE answered right back with a 9-2 run of its own, ending with Porter sticking in a second-chance bucket to get within two at 48-46. After falling behind again by as many as seven at 60-53 with just over eight minutes to play, UPIKE went on an 11-3 run over the next four minutes to get within a point. But just like before, the game got away from it again as Lindsey Wilson built their seven-point lead in the final minute. It's a short break for UPIKE as the Mid-South Conference schedule is in full swing. The Bears host Cumberland (Tenn.) at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday at the East Ky. Expo Center.
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Post by Press Release on Jan 12, 2014 13:53:29 GMT -5
Cheyene Madden has 9 points and 5 rebounds as UPike wins over #20 Cumberland (TN) University of Pikeville Press Release
With the help of a nine-point lead at halftime, the University of Pikeville women's basketball team was able to hold off a furious rally from No. 20 Cumberland (Tenn.) for a 79-67 win on Saturday at the East Ky. Expo Center. It took less than five minutes for the Bulldogs to tie the game in the second half, but UPIKE rallied to go up by as many as 12 points to secure the first win of the season against a ranked opponent. Callisha Johnson led the Bears (7-9, 2-3 MSC) with 18 points, followed by Kandice Porter with 16 and Brogan Conley adding 13. Brittany Swindall pulled down a team-high six rebounds, while Kayla Day had her best performance of the season with nine points and five boards. Casie Cowan paced the Bulldogs (7-7, 3-3 MSC) with 19 points and TaCouya Allen finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Both teams shot right at 43 percent from the field and Cumberland hit three more 3-pointers, but UPIKE was hard to beat hitting an astounding 18-of-19 shots from the free-throw line and controlling the backboards 40-30. Courtney Haney energized the Bears early, gathering her own offensive rebound on the first shot of the game to take the early lead. Tasia Blue and Cowan hit threes for the Bulldogs to take a 10-9 lead, but Swindall finished another offensive board to put the Bears up by three with 12 minutes left in the half. Layce Colter connected on a three for Cumberland to tie the score at 13, but it wouldn't score again for four minutes as UPIKE went on an 8-0 run, finished by a Porter layup to lead 21-13. The Bears were playing their best defense of the season and doing so without failing. Midway through the first half, the Bulldogs had a 6-0 advantage in fouls as UPIKE went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. The best sequence of the half for UPIKE came with less than three minutes to go. Day knocked down a three from the corner, Porter finished a lob and made a free throw and Conley added another three to go up 38-26. Cumberland added one more three to make it a 38-29 Pikeville lead at halftime. The Bears were shooting 42.9 percent from the field compared to 37 percent for the Bulldogs and had a 23-15 advantage on the glass while making all five of their free throws. The 12-point halftime lead was slashed to one as the Bulldogs went on a 14-5 run to start the second half. Conley opened the half with a three and Johnson hit a pair of free throws, but the next 11 points went to Cumberland to tie it at 43. For the first time since leading 10-9, the Bulldogs regained the lead with a free throw at 46-45 with 13 minutes to play. The Bears got back in control five minutes later as Johnson dished to Cheyenne Madden for a layup to make it a 58-53 lead. The Bulldogs answered quickly with a three, but Kelah Eldridge fought right back with a triple of her own. The Bulldogs trimmed the deficit to three on two occasions, but big baskets from Madden and Porter in the paint kept it a two-possession game. UPIKE went up by seven with two minutes left on a nifty layup from Patrice Tonge. Up eight with 53 seconds to go, the game turned into a free-throw contest for the Bears. Johnson passed the first test with a pair of makes to build a 10-point lead. Cowan hit a three on the next possession, but UPIKE wouldn't miss from the line to preserve the win. The Bears return to the court at 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 16 at No. 8 Georgetown (Ky.).
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Post by Press Release on Jan 19, 2014 8:03:19 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden has 18 points and 8 rebounds for UPike in 90-87 loss at the University of the Cumberlands University of Pikeville Press Release
Callisha Johnson poured in 25 points and Cheyenne Madden added 18, but it wasn't enough for the University of Pikeville women's basketball team to get past No. 22 Cumberlands (Ky.), losing 90-87 at the O. Wayne Rollins Center on Saturday. Julie Haye scored a career-high 24 points and Brooke Forsythe added 20 as the Patriots held off a furious rally from the Bears in the final two minutes. Up just one with 11 seconds left, Jackie Alexander hit two free throws and UPIKE's three at the buzzer misses the mark on the other end. Pikeville outrebounded the Patriots 32-24, but was outshot 53.4 to 45.3 percent from the field and had four more turnovers. The first nine minutes were full of shooting woes for UPIKE, hitting just four of its first 14 shots, but luckily Cumberlands went empty from behind the arc, allowing the Bears to stay within one at 10-9 after the first media timeout. Johnson had half of the Bears' points, but was shooting just 2-of-7 from the field at the 10-minute mark of the first half. After nearly three minutes of scoreless basketball, Johnson added a pair of free throws with 8:30 left to take an 11-10 lead. Alexander answered on the other end with a three, which Khalilah Quigley quickly matched on the next trip down the floor, then added a layup in transition to keep the Bears ahead by three at 16-13. Quigley finished with 17 points in her second game action of the season. Haye went to work to get the Patriots back in the game, hitting four free throws and connecting on a pair of baskets over the next three minutes to put the Patriots up by four. Late, first-half threes were the only thing keeping UPIKE close as both Patrice Tonge and Brogan Conley hit big shots. Keeping the hot hand, Haye gave the Patriots their largest lead of the half at 34-28 with back-to-back baskets. To keep the lead from growing any larger, both Lakeria Crowder and Courtney Haney added baskets in the final minute to make it a 36-32 Cumberlands lead at the half. The first four minutes of the second half consisted of Haye and Johnson trading baskets with the Patriots continuing to lead by no more than six. Eventually Johnson had a baseline jumper fall short and Alexander popped a three near the top of the key to give the Patriots a nine-point lead with 14:53 to play. UPIKE put a stop to the run with a three from Quigley, two free throws from Courtney Haney and a put back by Tonge to get within four. But Haye hit a foul-line jumper and Forsythe stuck in a layup to quickly get back to a 58-50 advantage. Cumberlands would go up by 13 a few minutes later as Forsythe finished a 3-point play and then hit a jumper on the next trip to go up 71-58. With the help of threes from Quigley and Tonge and the Bears' full-court press causing some turnovers, UPIKE clawed back within five at 75-70 with 5:36 to go. It's the closest the Bears had been since the 10:30 mark of the half. Madden followed that up with back-to-back 3-point plays by Madden to get within three, then following a Cumberlands basket, got a three from Johnson to get within two. In the craziest sequence of the game, UPIKE kept the ball on its side of the court for four free throws, five field-goal attempts and six offensive rebounds to take an 83-81 lead on a shot in the paint by Quigley. Herman added back-to-back buckets for the Patriots to give them a two point lead, then Quigley, doing this all with four fouls, hit two more free throws to tie the game in the final two minutes. With 1:10 to play Herman got loose at the top of the key for a three, then Johnson ripped a steal at half court and went in for a layup to make it 88-87. Chaos ensued on the next possession as the Bears briefly got a steal, then gave it right back to the Patriots who called a quick timeout. The officials decided to turn off the shot clock with the change of possession and just 11 seconds to play. Alexander was sent to the free-throw line, hitting both, and Johnson's three at the buzzer missed the mark. The Bears are back in action at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, hosting Rio Grande (Ohio) at the East Ky. Expo Center.
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Post by Press Release on Jan 24, 2014 8:31:41 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden has 21 points and 11 rebounds in UPike win over Rio Grande University of Pikeville Press Release
What looked like a defensive struggle at first turned into an offensive explosion as the University of Pikeville women's basketball team held on for a 100-97 victory over Rio Grande (Ohio) Thursday night at the East Ky. Expo Center. Khalilah Quigley led the Bears in a breakout performance with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists. Cheyenne Madden turned in 21 points along with 11 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end. Kelah Eldridge (18 points) and Brogan Conley (12 points) were the only other Bears in double figures. The Red Storm offense ran through Brianna Thomas, who poured in a game-high 24 points while contributing four assists and six rebounds. Sarah Bonar added 20 points and nine rebounds, while Brooke Marcum and Alexis Payne had 15 and 14 points, respectively. The Red Storm gave the Bears all they could handle, especially at the free throw line, where they went a combined 22-for-23 (96%). Ultimately the Bears' bench was decisive, outscoring Rio Grande's bench 33-12. Despite leading by as many as 13 points, the Bears found themselves trailing early in the second half. What followed was a barrage of baskets which saw 10 second-half lead changes. With 3:30 to play and UPIKE trailing, Eldridge scored eight points in three possessions, including two 3-pointers) to flip a three-point deficit into a three-point lead that the Bears wouldn't surrender. Calisha Johnson's clutch free throws with 12 seconds remaining gave the Bears 100 points, the most scored this season, and closed out the scoring for both teams. UPIKE (8-11, 3-5 MSC) looks for its second straight win on Saturday afternoon, when it welcomes Shawnee State (Ohio) for a 2 p.m. ET tipoff at the East Ky. Expo Center.
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Post by Local Sports on Jan 28, 2014 14:24:47 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden Cheyenne Madden scores 18 points; UPike falls to Shawnee State University of Pikeville Press Release
A second-half rally fell short Monday night as the University of Pikeville women's basketball team lost 91–83 to Shawnee State (Ohio) at the East Ky. Expo Center. While UPIKE was able to benefit from the visitors' 24 turnovers, Shawnee State used its height advantage to outrebound Pikeville 47-37, including 27 boards on the offensive glass. The most damage was done for Shawnee State by its senior guard duo of Alannah Sheets and Priscilla Santos. Santos finished with a game-high 26 points on top of her 11 rebounds to complete a double-double, while Sheets added 23 points and seven boards. Tabby McKinney led all rebounders with 15 for Shawnee State. For UPIKE, Cheyenne Madden led the offense with 18 points, while Khalilah Quigley and Callisha Johnson added 17 and 16 points, respectively, with Quigley snagging a team-best six rebounds. Kandice Porter added 12 points off the bench. After trailing by 10 at halftime (46-36), the Bears from Pikeville, Ky., trimmed the deficit to four points in less than four minutes, outscoring Shawnee State 10-4 in that span. Ten-minutes later it was down to a single points after Madden's free throws made it 68-67. But with 6:20 left to play, Shawnee State went on an 11-2 run to lead 79-68 and kept Pikeville from making any more runs to put the game away. UPIKE (8-12, 3-6 MSC) returns to action on Thursday night at 6 p.m. ET, hosting Bluefield (Va.) at the East Ky. Expo Center. Shawnee State improves to an even 10-10 overall and 3-6 in league play.
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Post by Press Release on Jan 31, 2014 6:08:25 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden scores 15 in UPike win over Bluefield University of Pikeville Press Release
The University of Pikeville women's basketball team was all business Thursday night, winning 76-61 over Bluefield (Va.) at the East Ky. Exposition Center. The Bears opened strong with a 9-0 run and then never trailed throughout the game. Callisha Johnson led UPIKE (9-12, 4-6 MSC) with 18 points, narrowly topping the 17 points of Lakeria Crowder, who came off the bench to log 26 minutes after a minor first-half injury limited Kelah Eldridge. Cheyenne Madden added 15 points, while Khalilah Quigley put in a blue-collar performance to record 15 points and a team-high nine boards. The Rams' Janee Simmons led all scorers with 23 points and tied teammate Destiny Tolliver with 11 rebounds for a double-double. Teqa McNeal was the only other Ram in double figures with 17 points. In addition to her 11 rebounds, Tolliver also registered 9 blocks, more than all other players combined. It was a very classy performance for the Bears, with Bluefield (9-9, 4-6 MSC) able to tie the game on two occasions, but never quite able to put itself ahead. UPIKE is back at it Saturday, traveling to West Virginia Tech for a 2 p.m. ET tipoff in Montgomery, W. Va.
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Post by Press Release on Feb 3, 2014 17:26:08 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden has 13 points and 8 rebounds; UPike wins over West Virginia Tech 81-70 University of Pikeville Press Release
Khalilah Quigley scored a game-high 21 points to help the University of Pikeville women's basketball team hold off West Virginia Tech 81-70 on Saturday. The Bears (10-12) and Golden Bears (5-11) played two close halves with UPIKE leading 46-41 at halftime, followed by outscoring West Virginia Tech 35-29 in the second half. The Bears were largely helped by a 53-40 rebounding advantage with both teams struggling from the field. Cheyanna Lusk hit a jumper to put the Golden Bears up 6-5 with 17:36 to play in the first half, but it would end up being the last time they enjoyed a lead. Cheyenne Madden hit two free throws on UPIKE's next possession to go up by one and pushed ahead by 10 on a Kandice Porter shot eight minutes in. West Virginia Tech cut the deficit to one on a 3-pointer from Elizabeth Evans at 33-32, but a 5-0 UPIKE run helped it take the five-point lead into the break. It was an even first 12 minutes in the second half up until the Golden Bears clawed within three at 62-59 on another Evans' three. But just like before UPIKE was there with an answer, this time in the form of a 9-0 run that ended with a three from Kelah Eldridge to make it 71-59 with six minutes left. West Virginia Tech got within seven points in the final minute but the final 30 seconds belonged to the Bears at the free-throw line, hitting 5-of-6 to pull off the 11-point win. Callisha Johnson and Madden added 13 points each for UPIKE, while Porter and Lakeria Crowder joined them in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Brogan Conley grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds as UPIKE shot 38.1 percent from the field. The Golden Bears were slightly lower at 36.8 percent with Evans matching Quigley with 21 points and Lusk adding 18. Pikeville is back in action at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday at Cumberland in Lebanon, Tenn.
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Post by Press Release on Feb 7, 2014 19:19:32 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden scores 15 points to help UPike to third straight win University of Pikeville Press Release
For the first time this season, the University of Pikeville women's basketball team has won three straight games as it topped Cumberland (Tenn.) 68-63 on Thursday at Dallas Floyd Gymnasium. The winning streak is coming at the perfect time as Mid-South Conference play is winding down and the standings are becoming interesting for each team's postseason chances. At the end of the game, the Bears (11-12, 5-6 MSC) were tied for fourth place with Lindsey Wilson (Ky.). Callisha Johnson paced UPIKE as it completed the regular-season sweep of Cumberland with 21 points and Cheyenne Madden and Kelah Eldridge joined her in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Khalilah Quigley added eight points and a game-best nine rebounds. TaCouya Allen led all scorers with 23 points for the Bulldogs (9-11, 5-7 MSC) and Casie Cowan finished with 17 points, including two 3-pointers. Allen also matched Quigley's total of nine rebounds for the game lead. Pikeville's defense was stellar, limiting Cumberland to 36.7 percent shooting from the field, which was huge since they did hit 22-of-26 shots from the free-throw line. The Bears also tallied a sizeable rebounding advantage at 40-25, including 10-3 on the offensive glass. The Bulldogs connected on their first four shots of the game, including three running jumpers by Allen to build an 8-2 lead as Porter was the only Bear to get to the rim for a basket. Porter ended up scoring four straight points to stop Cumberland's early momentum. With the Bears continuing to struggle from the field, Cumberland got a boost from a banked in three by Blue and another on the next possession by Colter to build a 16-8 lead eight minutes into the game. Trailing 18-10, UPIKE went on a 6-2 run with baskets from Brogan Conley and Quigley and a layup from Patrice Tonge to get within four at 20-16. Cumberland responded with a 5-2 run of its own and was getting comfortable at 25-18 before Eldridge scooped in a layup through a foul. Eldridge drew another foul the next time down and added two free throws, followed by Johnson hitting the Bears' first three of the game to tie the score at 25. A layup from Crowder two minutes later gave UPIKE its first lead at 29-28 with 2:37 on the clock. That prompted a flurry of back-and-forth possessions with the lead changing hands three other times before the break. Cowan stuck in a layup to make it 30-29, followed by Johnson hitting hitting another three to make it 32-30 in favor of UPIKE. Pikeville went without a point in the final two minutes, allowing the Bulldogs to take a 34-32 lead into intermission after leading by as many as 10 points at 18-8. It didn't take nearly as long for UPIKE to enjoy a lead in the second half, going up 37-36 on a Quigley layup just two minutes in. Johnson extended the margin to a game-high four three minutes later at the free-throw line. Down 44-40 with 15 minutes to play, Cumberland went on a 7-1 run that ended with a three from Allen to put it back in front 47-45 in a four-minute span. The lead lasted for the next six minutes until Porter sealed her defender for an easy layup and Eldridge completed a 3-point play to put UPIKE up 54-53. Cumberland would gain the lead just one more time in the game at 60-59 on a pair of free throws by Cowan with 2:26 to go. Madden came up huge for the Bears, hitting back-to-back jumpers to build a 63-60 lead. The Bears held on for the win by hitting 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch as Colter missed a three to end the Bulldogs' chances in the final seconds. UPIKE will have a short turnaround as it travels to Lindsey Wilson for a 3 p.m. ET start on Saturday in Columbia, Ky.
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Post by ClayLive on Feb 8, 2014 22:39:07 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden scores 22 points; UPike falls to Lindsey Wilson in overtime University of Pikeville Press Release
Brogan Conley and Cheyenne Madden both scored 22 points, but it wasn't enough to get the University of Pikeville past Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), losing 84-74 in overtime at Biggers Sports Center. Pikeville had a chance to win it in regulation when Khalilah Quigley's 30-foot jumper just missed off the rim at the buzzer. After that letdown, the Blue Raiders went on to outscore the Bears 18-8 in the extra period. Quigley also scored in double figures with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Conley had a complete line of eight rebounds, a block and a steal. Bre Elder matched the UPIKE duo for the game high with 22, while Kayla Richardson added 14 and Keosha Wisener finished with 13. Pikeville was narrowly outshot from the field 40.3 to 39.7 percent and hit just 5-of-19 shots from behind the arc, its 52-37 rebounding advantage helped keep it in the game with a 44-22 points in the paint advantage. The Bears were within a point at 8-7 after a basket by Tara Arnold four minutes in, but Lindsey Wilson went on to score the next six points for a 13-8 lead at the first media break. UPIKE ended up going on a five-minute drought without a bucket until Patrice Tonge made it 17-10 with 8:04 on the clock. Five minutes later the Bears grabbed their first lead since it was 4-2 as Madden completed a layup after a lob to put UPIKE up 22-21. That play kept working over the final two minutes, allowing the Bears to take a 35-29 lead into halftime. Eldridge split the Blue Raider defense and gave a perfect no-look pass to Conley for a layup that put the Bears up by eight. It was their largest lead yet but Lindsey Wilson answered with a 9-5 run that got it within three after a 3-pointer from Elder. Luckily for UPIKE Conley continued her best performance of the season, hitting back-to-back threes and adding a tip in to help it back up by five with 7:48 left. The narrative didn't change much for the next few minutes as the Blue Raiders got within three again, but Madden was there with a 3-point play to keep the small cushion. It was a 60-55 Pikeville lead with five minutes to go when Lindsey Wilson went on a 7-0 run highlighted by a Cassidy Martin three and Elder drive to the basket that put it up 62-60. It was the first Lindsey Wilson lead since 24-22 near the end of the first half. Down 66-64 with 20 seconds on the clock, Johnson went to the cup for an equalizer and Lindsey Wilson ended up turning the ball over with six seconds to go. After the Blue Raiders used a foul, all UPIKE could come up with was a 30-footer from Quigley that just missed to send the game into overtime. The extra period was played evenly for nearly four minutes as a layup from Johnson cut Lindsey Wilson's lead to two at 74-72. Then Keosha Wisener banked in a runner on the next possession and Richardson made it to the line for two free throws to take a 78-72 lead with 40 seconds to go. Up 80-72, Lindsey Wilson's Richardson made the mistake of fouling Johnson, who hit both free throws, but the Bears couldn't convert a layup after a turnover, allowing the Blue Raiders to control the outcome at the free-throw line. UPIKE is back in action at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday hosting Cumberlands (Ky.) at the East Ky. Expo Center.
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Post by Press Release on Feb 23, 2014 21:21:46 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden has 8 points and 8 rebounds; UPike Loses Close One at Rio Grande University of Pikeville Press Release
Things are getting interesting for the University of Pikeville women's basketball team's postseason chances after a close 81-78 loss at Rio Grande (Ohio) on Saturday at Newt Oliver Arena. With the loss the Bears drop to 12-16 overall and 6-10 in Mid-South Conference play. Only the top eight teams advance to the MSC Tournament and the Bears are currently tied for seventh place. Next weekend's slate of games will play out all the scenarios with UPIKE getting its final two at home against Campbellsville (Ky.) and St. Catharine (Ky.). At Rio Grande it was UPIKE that looked good early, taking a seven-point lead in the first seven minutes before going into halftime tied 39-39. In the second half, the RedStorm never led by more than six points, reaching that margin with five minutes left, but limited UPIKE to just 35 percent shooting to hold onto the win. The RedStorm needed a bad shooting performance to be able to win as they were outrebounded 55-39, including a 28-12 Bear advantage on the offensive glass. It was a sloppy game on both ends with UPIKE leading in turnovers 25-19, but it did help itself stay close by shooting 40 percent (8-of-20) from behind the arc. Once UPIKE got down in the game's final stages it was hard to come back as Rio Grande sent back a whopping 14 blocked shots and swiped 16 steals. Callisha Johnson led the Bears with 19 points, but failed to grab a rebound, while Khalilah Quigley joined her in double figures with 18 points and 10 boards, while also dishing out four assists and blocking two shots. Five RedStorm players scored in double digits, led by Sarah Bonar with 21 and Brianna Thomas adding 20. Harley Adler was a game changer down low, blocking 11 shots to go along with 11 points and eight rebounds. The NAIA record is 16 blocks in a game. Next up for UPIKE is a matchup with Campbellsville at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday at the East Ky. Expo Center.
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Post by Press Release on Feb 28, 2014 19:50:13 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden scores 10, has six rebounds; UPIKE falls to #4 Campbellsville University of Pikeville Press Release
Brogan Conley hit five 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 19 points, but No. 4 Campbellsville (Ky.) made its shots from the free-throw line count to tally a 75-59 win over the University of Pikeville on Thursday night at the East Ky. Expo Center. The Tigers shot 21-of-28 from the stripe, making 15 more free throws than UPIKE, while also forcing the Bears into a season-high 26 turnovers. Campbellsville needed those miscues as UPIKE shot 63.6 percent from behind the arc 7-of-11, including making all six attempts in the second half. Cheyenne Madden joined Conley in double figures with 10 points while no other Bear scored more than nine. Conley and Madden also paced the Bears on the boards with six rebounds each as the Tigers edged UPIKE on the glass 39-36. Conley moved up to 14th on the all-time scoring list at Pikeville with her night of hot shooting. Ellen Sholtes matched Conley with 19 to lead Campbellsville and Mary Jehlik added 17 and Katie Allen finished with 15 points. Lindsey Burd led the Tigers on the glass with eight boards. Campbellsville finished the game shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from three, compared to 45.1 percent from the field and 64.6 percent from long distance for the Bears. The Tigers were hard to comeback against while swiping a whopping 18 steals. Looking to avoid a quick start from the high-scoring Tigers, UPIKE jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a basket by Madden in the paint. The Bears kept the Tigers close for the first eight minutes, tying the score at 12-12 on a layup by Courtney Haney. As good as the opening parts of the game were, the Bears couldn't keep up with a quick 12-0 burst by Campbellsville that started with a three from Jehlik and ended with a free throw from Daizah Kimberland to take a 24-12 lead. Kandice Porter sank a free throw with 5:50 left in the half to get within seven at 30-23, but the Tigers closed out the first 20 minutes with an 11-4 run to build a 41-27 lead at the break. Sholtes and Jehlik led the Tigers in the half, finishing with 10 points each. Campbellsville went on to lead by double figures the entire second half, pushing ahead by as many as 24 points on a basket by Lindsey Burd with 10 minutes left to play. UPIKE responded with a furious 14-1 run to get within 11, aided by a pair of three from Christin Haney, but the deficit was too big to overcome. The Tigers put the game away for good with one last 9-0 run over a four-minute span that ended with two Caroline Owen free throws to put Campbellsville up 71-53. UPIKE plays its final regular-season game at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday against St. Catharine (Ky.). The Bears are looking to improve their seeding at the Mid-South Conference Tournament which they have at least qualified for as the No. 8 seed after Cumberland (Tenn.) lost to Shawnee State (Ohio) on Thursday.
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Post by Press Release on Mar 2, 2014 9:30:24 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden has 6 points and 8 rebounds; UPike Overwhelms St. Catharine University of Pikeville Press Release
Limited to just five players in uniform due to illness, St. Catharine (Ky.) could only keep up with the University of Pikeville women's basketball team for so long before taking an 84-62 loss to close out the regular season on Saturday at the East Ky. Expo Center. While the Patriots' (4-21, 1-17) season comes to an end, UPIKE (13-17, 7-11 MSC) advances to the Mid-South Conference Tournament on Friday in Lebanon, Tenn. The league office is expected to release the bracket Saturday night. Callisha Johnson and Kelah Eldridge paced the Bears with 15 points each, while Brogan Conley added 12 and Brittany Swindall chipped in with 10. Conley also pulled down 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double. The regular-season finale was also senior night for the Bears as Conley, Johnson and Swindall were honored prior to the game. Machera Calhoun led all scorers for St. Catharine with 29 points, but her effort was hard to capitalize on with five players playing 40 minutes. After shooting 53.8 percent from the field in the opening half, the Patriots finished shooting just 34.9 percent. The Bears were solid from the field at 44 percent and added 11-of-26 shooting from behind the arc to gain control of the game. A 58-36 advantage on the backboards did help, including a 22-12 advantage on the offensive glass. Although UPIKE ended up winning big by 22 points, it was the Patriots in front at halftime 40-38. They had led by as many as six at 22-16 on a free throw by Calhoun with 11:58 on the clock. Tied 33-33 in the final three minutes, St. Catharine connected on a pair of threes to build a 40-38 lead at the break. Conley opened the second half with a three to put the Bears up one and from there the game belonged to UPIKE. Swindall hit a jumper five minutes later to put Pikeville up by 10 and less than four minutes after that it was 21 as Khalilah Quigley finished a pass from Eldridge at the rim. UPIKE largest lead would be 26 points on a jumper in the corner by Christin Haney as Calhoun and St. Catharine ran out of gas.
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Post by Press Release on Mar 8, 2014 15:49:14 GMT -5
Cheyenne Madden has 17 points and 7 rebounds; UPike knocks off Cumberland in tourney play University of Pikeville Press Release
Behind 26 points from Callisha Johnson, sixth-seeded University of Pikeville turned in the first upset of the Mid-South Conference Women's Basketball Championship, topping No. 3-seed Cumberlands (Ky.) 87-77 on Friday night at Dallas Floyd Gymnasium. With the win, the Bears (14-17) advance to Saturday's semifinals against No. 2-seed Georgetown (Ky.) at 9 p.m. ET. This is the third trip to the semis in program history. Johnson wasn't alone leading UPIKE as her freshman teammates Kandice Porter and Cheyenne Madden added 18 and 17 points, respectively. The two newcomers both went 8-for-10 from the field, which was important with the Bears hitting just one three in 13 attempts. Jackie Alexander paced Cumberlands (19-10) with 23 points, while Julie Haye chipped in with 14 and Brooke Forsythe and Jill Herman both added 11. Energy on defense was key for UPIKE as it held the Patriots to just 35.9 percent shooting from the field and 21.7 percent from behind the arc. Rebounds were nearly a wash with the Bears leading 41-40. The game was won down low where Pikeville outscored Cumberlands 44-24 in the paint. Johnson had her way driving to the basket to start the game, scoring six points at the rim before five minutes had left the clock. That game plan stayed the same for the first 10 minutes, with UPIKE getting numerous backdoor baskets, but the Patriots made a pair of threes to lead 19-16. After nearly 12 minutes, UPIKE got into the long-range act as well with Conley knocking down a three to cut the deficit to one. The Patriots could only manage two free throws over the next three minutes, allowing a layup from Johnson to put the Bears up 21-20. It was their first lead since going up 2-1 to start the game. The Patriots went ahead by three twice, on a jumper by Alexander and a bank shot by Forsythe, but both times Pikeville had an answer to keep it a one-point game at 28-27 with 2:16 on the clock. With halftime just around the corner, Porter went to work. The freshman finished a lob to put the Bears up by one, then tallied a 3-point play on a foul-line jumper to give UPIKE a 32-28 lead, its largest of the half. Keeping up with the back-and-forth narrative, Alexander closed the first half with a layup near the buzzer and the teams took a 32-32 tie into halftime. It took nine minutes into the second half for either team to gain a lead of more than two points. Two free throws from Quigley put Pikeville up 46-43, but on the very next trip Lynnae Lampkins buried a long three to tie the score for the sixth time in the half. Breathing room finally came Pikeville's way as it outscored the Patriots 12-2 over a five-minute span to build a 58-48 lead and force a Cumberlands timeout. UPIKE stayed the aggressor, using two points from Eldridge at the stripe and a Johnson fast-break layup after a turnover to take a 12-point lead with 5:17 on the clock. Cumberlands had no luck coming back until getting within 10 on a pair of Alexander free throws inside the final four minutes. As hard as the Patriots were playing to get back in it, Pikeville kept playing that much harder, going up by a game-high 14 points on a layup from Madden with less than two minutes to play. Following a Pikeville turnover with one minute on the clock, the Patriots were able to cut the deficit to nine points twice, but it never got any closer as the Bears converted at the stripe and the last few 3-point attempts came up empty for Cumberlands.
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