COLUMBIA, Ky. – The 19th-ranked Lindsey Wilson women's basketball team made a strong comeback in the second half, but fell short in a 56-54 loss to Cumberland (Tenn.) Thursday at Biggers Sports Center.

Lindsey Wilson (16-5, 4-3 in the Mid-South Conference) overcame a 16-point first-half deficit to climb within a bucket with 8.2 seconds left in the game.

Kayla Richardson's half-court heave as time expired caromed off the rim ending the Blue Raiders five-game winning streak and sending the Bulldogs to 10-8 overall and 4-3 in the MSC with the upset win.

Cumberland used a 17-2 first-half run to seize control of the game midway through the half. The Bulldogs -- who only trailed for 41 seconds in the game -- led 23-7 at the end of the run en route to taking a 32-19 halftime lead.

Lindsey Wilson -- who was held to a season-low 54 points -- struggled on both ends of the court in the first 20 minutes.

The Blue Raiders shot 21.4 percent (6-of-28) in the first half, while allowing Cumberland -- who shot 41 percent from the field entering the game -- to connect on 48.3 percent of its shots.

Michelle Montgomery and Chanel Roberts led the Lindsey Wilson charge in the second half.

Montgomery made a basket, followed by five-straight points from Roberts to start a 14-3 run for the Blue Raiders. Lindsey Wilson second-half spurt cut the deficit to four (37-33) with 14:49 to go in the game.

Cumberland pushed the lead back to 43-33 with 12:06 remaining in the game to stymie the Blue Raider run momentarily.

After a free throw by Roberts, Courtney Sandlin hit a jump shot, followed by a basket by Ashley Johnson to cut the lead to 43-38 with 7:29 left in the game.

With 2:01 left in the game and Cumberland leading 54-48, Richardson and Alexus Chinn scored back-to-back baskets to cut it to 54-52 with 56 seconds left.

Cumberland's Chelsey Hall and Montgomery traded baskets setting up to the final 8.2 seconds.

Following a Cumberland turnover under its own basket, the Blue Raiders needed to go the length of the court to stave off the upset bid. But the Lindsey Wilson struggled advancing the ball up the court as Cumberland deflected a pair of passes -- the final deflection sailing out of bounds with 1.4 seconds left.

Roberts led Lindsey Wilson with 14 points and Billie Hearn added 11 points.

Jalita Fason's 13 points were a team-high for Cumberland, while Hall totaled 11 points.

The Blue Raiders finished the game shooting just 31.5 percent (17-of-54) from the field, including 4-of-19 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs countered with 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the floor.

Lindsey Wilson returns to action at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, Jan. 29 as the Blue Raiders host Cumberlands (Ky.) at Biggers Sports Center.