KINGSPORT, Tenn. – It was a tale of two halves for the Bluefield College women's basketball team, Thursday evening, as it took a 29-24 lead into halftime but fell by a score of 56-46 to No. 3 seed Union College in quarterfinal play of the 2015 Appalachian Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
 
Bluefield (15-16) went cold to open the second half, with its first points not coming until the 9:44 mark, being a Shelby Key three. In the meantime, the Bulldogs ( reeled off 16 points, including three triples, to take a 40-29 advantage. Bluefield trimmed the lead back to four with just over two minutes remaining, but could not complete the comeback. Union converted from the free-throw line down the stretch for the 56-46 win.
 
Key's 13 points led Bluefield as the team's only double-digit scorer. Destiny Tolliver had seven to go with a game-high matching eight rebounds, but the senior center and AAC Defensive Player of the Year fouled out with 2:55 to play.
 
Angie Lawrence guided the Bulldogs with a game-high 20 points as the only Union player with a double-digit total. Lawrence knocked down four of Union's nine threes in the contest.
 
The first half was back-and-forth with five lead changes. A three from Union's Macy Clontz earned the higher seed an 18-11 advantage halfway through the first period.
 
Bluefield outscored the Bulldogs 18-6 during the remainder of the half though, as Union went through a cold stretch of its own. For the half, Bluefield was 9-for-21 (43%) while Union was just 6-for-24.
 
The slow second half placed Bluefield in a double-figure deficit.
 
Key's triple brought it back to single digits, while Sharonda Tate added a reverse layin. Lawrence had the answer to push Union's lead back to eight, but Key connected once again with a triple, making the score 42-37 with 7:37 remaining.
 
The lead bounced back up to eight for Union and it buoyed around that mark until Valerie Lebedeva hit a three and added a free throw to make it 50-46 with 2:15 remaining.
 
Bluefield would not score again the rest of the way and Union finished strong at the charity stripe to advance. Union will play No. 7 seed Milligan, Friday, as the Buffaloes knocked off No. 2 seed Bryan, 67-58.
 
Bluefield shot just 19% (5-for-26) in the second half, making its field goal percentage finish at 30% (14-for-47) for the evening. Union went 10-for-28 (36%) in the final 20 minutes, lifting its mark to 31% on the evening.
 
Union won the rebounding battle, 43-36, and also held a 32-11 edge in bench scoring.
 
Bluefield's postseason play will continue, as they will take part in the National Christian College Athletic Association's Mid-East Regional Tournament. The event will take place at Lee University. More details will be available soon.