CU women tie record with 27th win

Briannica Tye led all scorers with 16 points along with six assists and five steals and No. 6 Cumberland outscored the University of the Cumberlands, 43-21, over the final 15 minutes of the game in a 71-48 victory Monday night at the Dallas Floyd Recreation Center.

It was the final regular-season game of the season for both teams before the Mid-South Conference Championships begin Thursday in Frankfort, Ky. The Bulldogs (27-2, 18-2 MSC) will take on Lindsey Wilson in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 1 p.m. CST.

Cumberland tied the school record for wins in a season with Monday’s victory, equaling the mark set by the 1998-99 squad that finished 27-7 overall and advanced to the program’s first-ever appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. The Bulldogs made 14 of their final 17 shots in the contest and added 13-of-15 free throws in the final 14:50 to turn a one-point game into a 23-point win.

Tye netted 10 of her 16 points in the second half while Lebanon's London Elie, Yalonda Davis and Simone Ryan each scored eight points after the break. Elie finished with 12 points and TaCouya Allen posted 11.

Brooke Forsythe led the Patriots (18-11, 11-9) with 13 points off the bench, including 7-of-8 free throws, while Erica Lane registered 12 points for UC.

The teams combined for 15 turnovers and just 33 percent shooting (16-for-49) as well as only 1-of-9 from 3-point range in the first half. Tye made a jumper and Ryan connected on two free throws to start the second period, but Lane hit a 3-pointer and Dace Bicane had a layup for the Patriots, making it 28-27 CU with 15:48 left in the game.

Ryan’s two foul shots with 14:50 left in the contest started a 10-0 Bulldog run that included four more points from Ryan as well as a jumper and two free throws by Josette Campbell. UC answered with five straight points, three from Forsythe, but a 14-2 spurt by Cumberland later in the half put the game away.

Tye had two free throws to start the run, Elie added a layup and Davis connected on two foul shots. A 3-pointer from the wing by Allen forced a timeout by the Patriots, but Tye made a layup and fed Davis for a trifecta. Davis’ two free throws with 4:02 left gave the Bulldogs a 58-40 advantage.

The Bulldogs scored the first seven points of the game on 3-pointer by Tye, a layup by Elie and two free throws from Allen. But CU netted just four points over the next seven minutes and the Patriots put together a 9-2 spurt, tying the contest at 13.

Consecutive layups by Lane knotted the contest with 8:39 remaining in the period. Cumberland answered with six straight points, including a fastbreak jumper by Tye and a backdoor layup from Elie. Casie Cowan added her second jumper of the half and Allen got an offensive rebound and hit a 12-foot leaner just before the buzzer for a 24-20 advantage at the break.

Lady Dawgs coming off road win at Bluefield

BLUEFIELD, Va. — Briannica Tye scored 17 points and TaCouya Allen added 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals in No. 6 Cumberland’s 65-57 victory Saturday over host Bluefield, upping the Bulldogs record to 14-0 away from home this season.

Cumberland (26-2, 17-2 Mid-South) used a 14-5 run at the end of the first half to take a four-point halftime edge and then put together a 12-5 spurt early in the second period to take control of the contest. The Bulldogs led by as many as 14 points after a 3-pointer from Casie Cowan with 7:05 remaining and the Rams (15-13, 8-12) never pulled closer than six the rest of the way.

Six different players scored in the 14-5 spurt at the end of the first half, including consecutive field goals by London Elie, who finished with nine points and five rebounds. Tye scored the final five points of the run in the second half, including a 3-pointer with 11:00 to play to give CU a 49-37 advantage.

Tye made 6-of-10 shots overall and was 4-for-5 from 3-point range, netting three 3-pointers and 12 total points in the second half. Jessica Pace added nine points and nine boards for the Bulldogs, who made 11-of-15 free throws in the second period to ice the win.

Ashley White led all scorers with 21 points for Bluefield, while Tega McNeal posted 12 points and Janee Simmons added 10.

The Bulldogs jumped out early in the game with an 8-4 lead behind four points from Allen and CU led 11-6 after a trifecta by Tye, but the Rams answered with a 12-2 spurt, highlighted by 3-pointers from Monique Robson and McNeal and six points by White.

A pair of free throws by Yolanda Davis ended Bluefield’uzzer s spurt and started the 14-5 run for the Bulldogs, with Pace adding two foul shots before the two buckets from Elie. Allen and Josette Campbell both made jumpers and Tye’s field goal just before the buzzer put the Bulldogs ahead, 29-25, at the break.

CU led 35-32 with 14:20 left in the game after a layup by White before two free throws by Pace began the 12-5 run to take control of the contest. Cowan made a 3-pointer, Allen connected on two free throws and Simone Ryan added a bucket before a jumper and trifecta from Tye put the club up, 49-37.

The Rams answered with an 8-2 spurt to cut the deficit to six, with White and McNeal scoring four points apiece, but Tye and Cowan each registered 3-pointers and Pace added two foul shots for Cumberland’s biggest lead of the game, 59-45.

Bluefield would not go away, though, coming back with a 10-2 run with six points from Simmons and a 3-pointer by Robson, pulling the home team within 61-55 with 2:01 remaining. The Bulldogs made 4-of-7 free throws in the final 1:28 to pull out the win.

Bulldogs butted by Rams, 75-63

BLUEFIELD, W. Va. – Cumberland's men dropped their final road contest of the season to Bluefield 75-63 on Saturday afternoon at The Dome despite 23 points from Creshaun Holt, 11 by Lester Gude and 10 from Jerret Towns.

The Bulldogs (9-19, 5-14) outrebounded the Rams by 11, hauling in 21 offensive rebounds compared to 19 defensive, but committed 18 turnovers while Bluefield had 14 miscues on the night.

Cumberland again had difficulty containing BC’s Byron Carpenter, who dominated inside and finished with 32 points, just shy of his game-high 34 he scored the first time the teams met on November 29, where the Bulldogs pulled out a 94-92 victory at home in Lebanon.

The Bulldogs led by as many as a dozen at the 11:22 mark in the first half after Gude hit his second 3-pointer of the day. The Rams responded with a 12-4 run over the next five minutes to close the gap to 26-22 after a layup by Eric Swift.

Holt was the only CU player to score from the 6:26 mark until 1:31 to go in the half, connecting on three field goals and two free throws pushing the Bulldogs out in front, 34-28.

Cumberland broke down defensively before the half, allowing sharp-shooter Kearston Marion to wiggle loose and hit one of his four 3-pointers and giving Carpenter a layup right before the buzzer to cut CU’s lead to 38-35.

The Rams (10-17, 5-15) came out and secured a 40-39 lead 68 seconds into the second half after a Swift 3-pointer and a Carpenter dunk. Elijah Gillis drained a jumper from the baseline to give CU a one-point advantage with 15:27 to play, but the Bulldogs were unable to keep control, losing the lead on a Carpenter layup the next trip down the floor, and the Rams never trailed again.

Carpenter unleashed the next 12 points for BC to put his team up 58-52 before a Moritz Dern jumper got the Bulldogs to within 58-54 with 8:31 to play. AnotherMarion3-pointer increased Bluefield’s lead to seven and a Josh Nesbit layup raised it to double digits, 66-56, with less than five minutes remaining in the contest. A free throw by Carpenter with under a minute to play gave the Rams their biggest lead of the game, 75-61.

For Bluefield, Marion scored 12 points, all on 3-pointers and Swift contributed 10 points.