North Kentucky News

Patriots Notch Fifth Straight Win as Monday Tallies Double-Double

Kassie Monday tallied her second career double-double while three Patriots scored in double figures to lead the 20th-ranked women's basketball team to a 74-41 Saturday afternoon on Randy Vernon Court.  Cumberlands outscored the Firehawks 30-13 in the second half to improve to 21-5 overall and 16-5 in conference play.

Kassie Monday finished with 11 points, while tying her career-high with 10 assists and grabbing six rebounds.  Kaylie Monday and Destiny Haworth each netted 14 points in the contest as Monday added a team-high eight rebounds and three steals.  Channing Lewis and Lakin Burke combine for 12 rebounds as Amerah Steele chipped in eight points.

Haworth drained a three-pointer on the opening possession to spark a 7-0 Patriots run that was capped off with Kassie Monday finding Lewis for a layup.  The two teams traded baskets before Kassie Monday notched a steal and took it herself to lay it in and put UC in front 11-4 midway through the opening quarter.  Two minutes later, Steele drained a 17-foot jumper to spark a 5-0 run putting UC in front 16-6 with 2:09 left.  Kaylie Monday netted five of the final six points of the period to make it 22-11 in favor of Cumberlands. 

UT Southern tallied the first bucket of the second quarter before Lewis added a three points and an assist to extend the lead to 28-14.  Haworth added five points, while Steele hit from long range to make it 36-21 with 4:03 left in the first half.  The Firehawks went on a 7-4 run before Kassie Monday found Victory Fredricks on the block and added a layup in the closing seconds of the half to give Cumberlands a 44-28 edge.

Both teams came out with strong defensive efforts in the third quarter as the Patriots went on a 9-2 run with seven of those points coming from the charity stripe extending their lead to 53-29 with 4:03 remaining.  A minute later, Kaylie Monday found Steele on the wing for a transition three-pointer to make it 57-31.  Kassie Monday closed out the quarter finding Kaylie Monday behind-the-arc for her 10th assists before added a layup to complete the double-double and make 64-34 heading into the fourth period.

UC opened the fourth quarter with Fredricks making her 39th block of the season, moving her into fourth all-time for a single season.  On the ensuing offensive possession, Joy Kendrick drained a three to give UC a 67-34 advantage.  The defensive battle continued as UT Southern went on a 5-0 run, over a four minute span.  Jaiden Cox scored five of the final seven UC points in the game for the 74-41 final.

Cumberlands will return to the court Thursday, February 16, when they travel to Columbia, KY to face Lindsey Wilson.  Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. EST with live video available here.

Original source can be found here.