Buccaneers complete sweep season series against Cougars with 46-41 road win

“Offensively, we showed great patience. I was very pleased with our ball movement and shot selection. With that said, we missed way too many easy shots tonight which helped them hang around late,” Buckhannon-Upshur coach Rob Kittle said.

“Defensively, we scrapped and made the plays we needed to make to win. Our energy and effort on the defensive end was huge. Our length bothered them all game long. Overall, I am pleased with the effort and happy to pick up the win.”

Alyssa Abel narrowly missed out on securing a triple-double, finishing with a team-high 18 points to go along with eight steals and eight rebounds, while Gabby Parke scored 16 points, including eight in the first quarter, to join Abel in double figures.

Ashlyn Riley scored a game-high 19 points, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter, to lead the Cougars in a valiant losing effort.

After a Parke layup gave the Buccaneers a 6-3 lead with 6:19 left in the opening frame, Riley responded with her first 3-pointer of the night to tie the game at six with 5:12 left in the first quarter.

Kenna Maxwell answered with a 3 of her own to put the Buccaneers back up by three before Riley swished her second 3 to tie things back up at nine with just over four minutes to go in the first.

Parke began to exert her will in the final minutes of the opening frame, scoring back-to-back baskets in less than 20 seconds to push the Buccaneers back out front 13-9 with 3:51 left in the first quarter.

Riley’s third 3 of the opening frame capped off a mini 5-2 Lincoln run to close out the quarter, cutting the Buccaneers’ lead to 18-14 heading into the second.

B-U began the second quarter with an 8-0 run, capped off by a putback layup from Abel that stretched the Buccaneers’ lead to 26-14 with just 2:40 remaining in the first half.

Brooklyn Davisson hit a 3-pointer for the Cougars’ first and only field goal of the period, cutting the lead to 26-17 at the 1:18 mark.

Parke found a slashing Harley Dean in the post for a score to beat the halftime buzzer, allowing the Buccaneeers to take a 28-17 lead into the locker room.

“In the first half, we were a bit careless with the ball which allowed them to get out and run. We also gave up too many offensive rebounds that allowed them to get second and third-chance opportunities,” Lincoln coach Rob Hawkins said.

The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second half before Lincoln was able to string together a 6-0 run, capped off by Riley knocking down a pair of shots from the charity stripe, to draw within five at 33-27 with four minutes to go in the third.

Abel silenced the Cougars’ run by piecing together an individual 6-1 run in the waning minutes of the third, scoring on two fastbreak layups and sinking a pair of free throws to give the Buccaneers a 39-28 advantage heading into the final frame.

The Cougars were able to make things interesting late with Riley scoring six straight points to cut the Buccaneers’ lead to 44-39 with just over a minute left, but didn’t get any closer.

“I don’t feel like we ever really found any kind of rhythm in this game. I think that we could have done a better job at attacking them off the bounce and generate better looks, but we played a little timid tonight. Even in the fourth quarter, when we had a chance to cut into the lead we didn’t execute well enough offensively to make a real solid run,” Hawkins said.

The loss snaps a two-game winning streak for Lincoln as they drop to 9-11. The Cougars will remain at home with a date with Bridgeport on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Following their second straight win, Buckhannon-Upshur improves to 10-9. The Buccaneers are set to welcome Parkersburg South to Tennerton on Saturday at 3 p.m.