COLUMBIA, Ky.- The No.24-ranked Blue Raider women's basketball team defeated the No.15-ranked Patriots of the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) 79-73. 

Meadow Tisdale led the offensive brigade with 24 points and four rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. Amelia Hodges and Jarie Thomas rounded out the double-figure scoring with Hodges tallying 15 points on 3-of-4 from three and Thomas totaling 12 points on 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from behind the arc. 

Tisdale opened up the scoring at the 9:32 mark on a mid-range jumper for an early 2-0 LWU edge. Tisdale found herself on the line at 8:38, knocking down two free throws to push the lead to 4-2. The Patriots took a 5-4 lead at 7:11 after Joy Kendrick converted on a layup in the paint. Saniyah Shelton found Hodges on the right wing for a three to take a 7-5 advantage with 6:46 on the clock. From 6:27 to 0:02, both teams traded buckets, keeping it a one-possession game with Lindsey Wilson trailing 19-17 at the end of the first quarter. 

With 9:04 left in the first half, Fleming knocked down a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 19-19, but was quickly answered by Cumberlands' Peyton Mounce at 8:48 for the Blue Raiders to trail 21-19. Thomas knocked down a three at 4:27 on an assist by Emily Cox to pull the Blue Raiders within one point of the Patriots, trailing 31-30. Cox connected on a layup at 3:52, followed by a bucket from Tisdale at 3:20 to give LWU a 34-31 advantage. A layup from Mounce at 2:38 tied the game at 35-35, but was quickly answered with a side-step three from Emma Barnett with 2:23 left in the first half, giving the Blue Raiders a 38-35 lead. Kendrick connected on two free throws with 0:17 on the clock to cut the lead to 38-37. Fleming weaved through the lane and converted on a tough layup with 0:04 to give the Blue Raiders a 40-37 edge headed into halftime. 

Hodges ended the Patriots' 4-0 run to start the third quarter with a jumper at 8:29 to give the Blue Raiders a 42-41 lead. From 7:22 to 6:51 both teams went back and forth with the Cumberlands leading 45-44. A three from Hodges on an assist from Tisdale at 6:14 pushed LWU ahead 47-45 before Zaram Fredricks knocked down an interior shot with 6:02 left in the third quarter, tying the game. Fleming got to the rim, connecting on the tough bucket and drawing the and-one to finish the three-point play for a 50-47 LWU advantage at 4:43. A jumper from Cumberlands' Aden Clark at 3:57 finished inside the paint to give the Patriots a 51-50 advantage. Mounce connected on a triple to send UC ahead 54-50 with 3:28 on the clock before a Tisdale jumper cut the Blue Raider deficit to 54-52 at the 3:04 mark. Lindsey Wilson ended the quarter on a 5-3 run to trail the Cumberlands' 58-57 headed into the final ten minutes of action. 

At 9:08 Tisdale cut the lead to 60-59 on a tough bucket inside on an assist from Shelton. With 8:33 on the clock, Guess went to the free throw line, making the first but missing the second and grabbing her miss for an easy lay-in and a tie ball game at 62-62 with 8:28 remaining. Hodges extended the lead to 65-62 at 8:09 after a three on an assist from Fleming, followed by a layup from Guess for a 67-64 score with 7:31 on the clock. At the 2:00 mark, Kendrick sank a three to grab a 73-70 lead over LWU. With 1:39 left in regulation, Tisdale knocked down a free throw to cut the deficit to 73-71. With 0:31 on the clock, Thomas came off of a curl screen on the left wing where Shelton found her for a triple giving the Blue Raiders a 74-71 lead. Hodges knocked down two free throws with 0:10 on the clock, followed by Fleming knocking down her first free throw and missing her second with Shelton grabbing the offensive board and put back with 0:01 on the clock to ice the 79-73 Lindsey Wilson victory. 

The Blue Raiders will be back in action on Saturday in Circleville, Ohio to face Ohio Christian at noon C.T.