PIKEVILLE – The University of Pikeville women’s basketball team narrowly missed with its bid to upset the Patriots of No. 25 St. Catharine College on Thursday night. St. Catharine managed to edged Pikeville 59-57.

The Bears (5-12, 2-8 in the Mid-South Conference) led for the first 38 minutes of the game, but junior guard Machera Calhoun tied it at 55 with 1:52 to play. Dutch junior Rianne Hofstraat swished a three-pointer with 1:24 left to put the Patriots up for the first and only lead change of the game, 58-56.

The Bears’ upset bid was fueled largely by strong, team-based defense. Harshly limited shot selection for St. Catharine meant the Patriots finished the first half shooting just 6-of-31 (19.4 percent) from the floor.

A combination of two things however would be the Bears’ undoing. Firstly, the Patriots’ offense was able to execute much more easily in the second half, and finished the game 21-of-55 (38.2 percent) from the field. Secondly, the Bears aggression on defense meant they were called for 26 fouls to the Patriots’ 12, resulting in 32 free throws being taken by St. Catharine compared to just 13 for UPIKE.

The Patriots were lead in scoring by senior center Janae Howard, who came off the bench to record 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots in 25 minutes of action. Senior forward Reilly Poirier narrowly missed a double-double, with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Calhoun also added 10 points for the Patriots.

Freshman forward Peyton Wright continued to impress for UPIKE, going for 13 points and six rebounds without turning the ball over once. Junior point guard Jayme Jackson added 12 points along with four rebounds as well as four assists. Senior guard Sally Roberts closed out the list of Bears in double-figures, adding 11 points.