Linton pours in 31 in women's basketball loss to Bluefield

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - Despite a career-best 31-point effort from LeAsia Linton, Union couldn't keep up with Bluefield in a 75-62 Appalachian Athletic Conference women's basketball loss Saturday afternoon.

Linton, who also had four assists and three steals, did the bulk of her scoring damage in the third quarter, where she finished with 16 points on a whopping 92 percent true shooting percentage.

She was 4-of-5 from the field and 7-of-7 from the foul line, with five of those points coming on a 7-0 run to open the second half, which got Union within 33-32 after trailing by eight at the half. Linton shot 9-of-17 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 10-of-11 from the foul line for the game, scoring at least 24 points for the fourth time this season.

But Bluefield's Kylie Meadows, the top scorer in the AAC, turned the tide back the Rams way with an incredible, off-balance layup on the next possession, finding just enough space around defender Raigan King to kick-start an 11-1 Bluefield run.

Though they had no one to match Linton's output, the Rams had much more balance with four players scoring in double figures. No other Bulldog finished the day with more than eight points.

Gracie Jervis led all players with five assists and five steals for Union, which falls to 3-15 overall, 3-11 in the AAC.

The Bulldogs will complete a four-game home stand with a 5:30 p.m. game against Montreat Tuesday.