Spirited women's basketball falls to Montreat in overtime

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - A wire-to-wire battle didn't go Union's way, as the foul-depleted Bulldogs ran out of gas in a 65-59 overtime loss to Montreat in an Appalachian Athletic Conference women's basketball matchup Tuesday night.

In a game that featured 14 ties, 13 lead changes and was always within single digits, the Bulldogs had a great opportunity to win at the end of regulation.

Following a Haley Brock steal with six seconds to play, Gracie Jervis found a cutting LeAsia Linton near the basket off an in bounds pass. Unfortunately, a Cavalier defender made a great close to disrupt Linton's shot, forcing a miss as time expired to send the game to overtime knotted at 56.

Despite a spirited effort, Union entered the extra period undermanned, as starting center McKenzi Himes and reserve center Raigan King both fouled out in regulation. The Cavaliers took advantage of their absences as Mariya Williams, who scored six of her game-high 23 points in overtime, cut to the basket for layups on back-to-back possessions to give Montreat a 60-57 lead.

Following another Cavalier basket, Morgan Blakley hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to cut it to 62-59, but that proved to be the only field goal the Bulldogs hit in the extra period, as Montreat closed things out at the foul line.

The loss came despite a very balanced scoring effort from Union. King led the team with 11 points, but got plenty of help as all eight Bulldog players who played at least 13 minutes scored at least five points.

Linton had nine points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and six steals. Ciara Uphoff also had nine points while Jervis made three steals.

Union falls to 3-16 overall, 3-12 in the AAC. The Bulldogs return to the road for a pair of games this week, starting with a 5:30 p.m. tip at Bryan Thursday.