Box Score

BLUEFIELD, Va. – Bluefield outscored #21 University of the Cumberlands 46-32 in the second half en route to the 76-71 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Dome Gymnasium, getting their second-straight come-from-behind Mid-South Conference victory.
 
The win moves BC to 12-10 for the season and 6-7 in Mid-South Conference play with five conference games left to play. It is BC's second win over a ranked opponent this season, the first being a 74-56 home win over then-20^th Cumberland on Jan. 9. The Lady Rams are 7-2 at the Dome Gymnasium this season.
 
Bluefield was paced by senior guard Teqa McNeal's 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the floor, while Asia Wheeler added 19 more. Janee Simmons chipped in 12 points and had a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Four Patriots (15-9, 9-5 MSC) tallied double-digit totals, led by Brooke Forsythe's 20 points. Jill Herman and Julie Haye tallied 15 apiece and Jackie Alexander tossed in 12. Haye had a team-high seven rebounds, but the Patriots were outrebounded 38-31 on the evening.
 
Cumberlands grabbed its largest lead at 44-30 with 18:21 to play in the second half, before the Lady Rams scored back-to-back baskets to begin the comeback.
 
Over the next 10 minutes, BC steadily wore down the Patriots and reeled off a 25-10 run. A pair of Wheeler free throws with 9:31 on the clock gave BC its first lead of the day, 55-54. BC was hot from the floor during the stretch, going 10-for-13, including three-point hoops from Monique Robson and Whitney Smith.
 
The rally was a team effort as six different Lady Rams tallied points. Wheeler led the way with eight, while Simmons and McNeal chipped in five and four, respectively. Robson and Smith had their three-pointers, while Destiny Tolliver's layup started it all.
 
The teams went back-and-forth over the next few minutes, with four lead changes. After BC had grabbed its first lead, the visitors answered with back-to-back baskets before Alexis Grant hit a jumper, cutting it to a one point game. McNeal's three with 7:40 on the clock put BC up 61-60, while a layin from the senior and then a driving basket from Grant made it 65-60 with 6:17 to play.
 
UC came back once again, this time with six-straight points to reclaim the lead, but for the final time. Forsyth tallied a field goal while Alexander hit four-straight free throws.
 
Free throws became big down the stretch, as BC went 6-of-9 over the final 3:25 and UC 5-of-6. A Forsyth free throw made it 70-69 for BC before McNeal hit a trey on the other end with 1:12 on the clock.
 
Haye hit two free throws for UC, but a Wheeler jumper made it a four-point cushion for BC, 75-71 with 40 seconds left. Cumberlands missed its final two shot attempts from the field as BC earned the 76-71 win.
 
Bluefield finished the night going 28-for-55 (50.9%) from the field, compared to a 22-for-55 (40.0%) performance from the Patriots. UC had started hot from beyond-the-arc, hitting 5-of-11 attempts in the first half, but the Patriots were 0-for-5 over the final 20 minutes of play. Conversely, BC was a cool 1-of-3 in the first half from long range, but hit 4-of-7 attempts in the second half.
 
BC plays once again on Monday, making up Thursday's rescheduled game against #8 Georgetown at 4 p.m., with the men following at 6 p.m. The Lady Tigers were knocked off Saturday afternoon by University of Pikeville, 77-73.