Lady Bears hold off Wise, 69-59

PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Three players reached double figures and Pikeville survived 21 turnovers to knock off U.Va.-Wise 69-59 Wednesday afternoon.

The win lifted the Lady Bears to 11-3 on the season and gives them three straight wins to end the calendar year.

Pikeville led by as many as eight twice in the second half, but the Lady Cavaliers hung around all game long, and when freshman MaShonna Hughes hit a jumper with 5:37 remaining, the guests took a 56-55 lead.

It stayed that way for 2:30 before sophomore Whitney Compton hit a free throw to tie it, and sophomore Lakia Bailey put back the missed second try to give the Lady Bears back a lead they would never lose.

The 10-point margin of victory was the biggest lead since Pikeville led 12-2 in the early going.

Bailey and freshman Natiera Hinton led the way with 17 points each. Bailey added six rebounds off the bench while Hinton had five.

Senior Alice Daniel followed with 14, hitting three three-point baskets and all five of her free throw attempts.

U.Va.-Wise (4-8) also had three players in double digits, with freshman MaShonna Hughes coming off the bench to lead the way with 18 points and nine rebounds. The Manassas, Va., product also blocked four shots and recorded three steals.

Freshman Kristin Mullins followed with 12 and freshman Ashley Tanner tossed in 11.