Pace's 18 points lead Lady Bulldogs to 13-0

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. — Jessica Pace scored a game-high 18 points, leading four players in double figures in seventh-ranked Cumberland’s 61-49 victory over No. 18 Union College Saturday in the Union Holiday Classic.

The Bulldogs moved to 13-0 on the season with the win, using a size advantage to record 38 points in the paint and also netting 20 points off 19 Union (9-3) turnovers. Calamity Jane Coley posted 14 points off the bench for CU and Josette Campbell and TaCouya Allen each posted 10 points. Pace also grabbed eight rebounds and Allen and London Elie both registered five caroms.

Cumberland held Union to just 30 percent shooting from the field in the game, including 24 percent (6-for-25) in the first half, but UC finished 19-of-25 from the foul line, keeping the home team in the contest.

The teams played pretty evenly the first 10 minutes of the first half, with Allen’s bucket at 10:57 giving CU a 13-12 edge, but Union put together a 12-3 run over the next five minutes with six points from Laura Perkins, as UC was 8-for-10 at the foul line during the stretch. Cumberland responded with a 12-1 spurt over the final 5:08 of the period, starting with a pair of Allen field goals.

Coley added a bucket before Pace scored two field goals and Allen ended the half with another bucket for a 28-25 advantage for the Bulldogs at the break.

CU found its offensive rhythm after intermission as well, outscoring Union 26-11 to extend the lead to 54-36 with 6:32 remaining in the contest. Pace netted the first six points of the half and Coley posted 11 of her 14 points during the stretch. Campbell added five points, including a 3-pointer, after missing almost the entire contest Friday against Tennessee Wesleyan with an ankle injury suffered in the opening three minutes.

Union answered with a 9-1 run that cut the Bulldog lead to 10 with exactly three minutes left, but that was as close as the home team would get. Lindsay Waters was the only Union player in double figures, finishing with 13 points.

Cumberland will return home Thursday to take on Mid-South Conference foe St.. Catharine College at 6 p.m. at the Dallas Floyd Recreation Center.