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COLUMBIA, Ky. – Kayla Styles scored a career-high 26 points, and the 19th-ranked Lindsey Wilson women's basketball team overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat No. 21 Pikeville (Ky.) 71-66 in a Mid-South Conference game on Saturday afternoon in Biggers Sports Center.

Styles scored her 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. She also soared for eight rebounds and dished out two assists. Courtney Sandlin and Chanel Roberts joined Styles in double figures. Sandlin, who got her hands on four boards, contributed 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Roberts added 10 points, eight rebounds, and two assists in the victory.

The first quarter was a defensive struggle for the Blue Raiders (24-5, 10-4 MSC) and the Bears (21-7, 7-7 MSC) with the score even at 12-12 after one. Pikeville went on a 9-0 run spanning the first 3:32 of the second quarter. The spurt gave the Bears a nine-point advantage, which turned out to be their largest lead of the game with the score 21-12. The Blue Raiders scored the next six points to pull within three at 21-18 with 5:36 to play in the half, but Pikeville responded with a 14-9 run to push its advantage back to eight with the score 35-27 going into halftime.

Then, Lindsey Wilson had a big third quarter.

In just under four minutes of play, the Blue Raiders put together a 10-2 run of their own to start the third quarter and draw the score even at 37-37. A field goal by Malerie Martin, who scored seven points in the game, tied things up, and on the Bears' ensuing possession, Styles garnered a steal. The ball ended up in the hands of Roberts and she passed the ball back to Styles, who scored to give Lindsey Wilson a lead it would not relinquish at 39-37 with 5:45 remaining in the third. The Blue Raiders converted 21 Pikeville turnovers into 16 points on the day.

Lindsey Wilson stretched its lead to nine points with the score 52-43 at the end of the period.

The Blue Raiders grabbed their largest lead of the afternoon at 60-49 after two-made free throws by Styles with 6:38 to play, but the Bears would not go quietly. They clawed back by compiling a 12-2 run to cut the Lindsey Wilson lead to one point at 62-61 with under two minutes remaining.

However, Styles once again provided the Blue Raiders a lift, doing it both defensively and offensively.

Styles first drew an offensive foul on the Bears' Dinyell Calvert, which sent Styles to the line where she made 1-of-2 free throws to put Lindsey Wilson up 63-61 with 1:55 left in the game. On Pikeville's ensuing possession, Kandice Porter missed a shot, and Styles grabbed the rebound. She drew a foul in the process and calmly made both free throws to put the Blue Raiders up 65-61.

Sandlin increased the lead to six at 67-61 by making two free throws with 46 seconds left in the game, and the Blue Raiders held on the rest of the way to win 71-66 in their final-regular-season MSC game.

Pikeville was paced offensively by Kelah Eldridge, who made 7-of-14 shot attempts to score 21 points. Two other Bears reached double-figures: Aundrea Matchen (13) and Prisha Rogers (11).

Lindsey Wilson returns to action for its final-regular-season game in a non-conference matchup with Fisk (Tenn.) on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT in Biggers Sports Center.