LEBANON, Tenn.--The Phoenix frantic fourth quarter comeback falls short as Kayla Gordon scores a career-high 34 points at the Rosa Stokes Classic on Saturday. 

Cumberland (4-5) trailed by as much as 13 in the fourth quarter and fought all the way back to tie the game at 95-95 with 22 seconds to play, but Simmons College closed it out with defensive stops and knocking down five free throws in the final moments. 

Gordon had a career-high 34 points against the Falcons, up to this point in her Cumberland career, she had never had a 20 point game. Gordon finished 10-for-19 with one three and went 13-for-17 at the free throw line. 

Gordon was aided by Jana Claire Swafford who notched 20 points, Lindsey Freeman scored 18 and Myajae Eubanks finished with 10. 

Swafford posted her season-high and first 20 point game of the season. She went 5-of-12 from the field with three three-pointers and 7-of-8 from the line. Freeman posted a double-double after she missed most of the first three quarters after picking up three fouls in the first. She finished with 18 on 4-of-10 shooting with 12 boards in just 19 minutes. 

The Phoenix shot 37.5% from the field and went 6-for-14 from beyond the arc. Cumberland took 44 free throws in the game making 37 of them for 79.5%. 

Simmons College shot 51.6% from the field and went 7-of-15 from three. The Falcons went 7-of-15 from deep. Simmons also took 37 free throws making 27 of them.

Naria Reed led the Falcons in scoring with 28 points to lead five players for the opposition in double figures. Megan Defoor also posted a 20 point game finishing with 21.

Simmons came out quick and got off to a 9-0 start after two and ones and a triple. Swafford finally broke the run with two free throws to get Cumberland on the board and Alyssa Goehring drained a three from the top of the key, but Simmons answered with one of their own. 

By the first media timeout both teams were shooting free throws and Cumberland cut it to a 16-14 deficit with 4:52 left in the first. 

The Phoenix tied it on a layup from Emaleigh Tarpley and on the next possession Megan Defoor drilled a three to spark a 17-8 run to put the Falcons up 33-25 at the end of the first quarter. 

The first quarter took 34 minutes to play and had 20 fouls and 26 combined free throws. Defoor hit three threes and had nine points for Simmons while Goehring had seven for Cumberland.

Action slowed down to start the third as both teams picked up just two points in the first three minutes. Naira Reed got a two to go on a putback and it led to a quick 7-0 run to put the Falcons up 15, 42-27 with 5:35 left in the half. 

Kayla Gordon finally got a two to go after the Phoenix were scoreless for three minutes of play. Gordon followed that with two free throws, Goehring made a layup, and Swafford knocked down a three to bring it back to a 10-point deficit at 48-38. Defoor hit a two just before the horn to make the lead 50-38.

In the first five minutes of the third, Cumberland and Simmons played back and forth as Swafford and Gordon both drained threes in the stretch. However, the Falcons had an answer each time taking it to a 10-point lead with 4:59 left in the third, 60-50.

Out of the media, Freeman, who missed most of the first half with three fouls, drilled another triple and after her Swafford came down and hit her second of the game forcing Simmons into a timeout leading by five 63-58 with 3:31 left in the third. 

The Falcons were able to hold Cumberland to just four more points in the rest of the quarter and regain the 10-point lead at 72-62 going to the fourth. 

The Phoenix kept trying to chop away at the lead, but as Cumberland made shots, Simmons College answered. 

Out of the fourth quarter media timeout, Eubanks made two free throws, Gordon got a two to go in the paint, and Swafford made two from the line for a 5-0 run and to get back within two possessions. 

A basket by the Falcons pushed it back to seven, but Swafford answered with a three. The Falcons scored right after getting it back to six. The Phoenix went right back as Freeman knocked down a free throw and Faith Colston had an offensive board and putback to get it to a one-possession game, 88-85.

Cumberland was able to cut it to a one-point lead at the free throw line trailing 92-91 with 1:31 left. The Falcons pushed back to a four-point lead after Reed knocked down a jumper and Defoor scored one at the line, but again Cumberland took advantage at the charity stripe as Freeman made two and Gordon made two to tie the game at 95-95 with 22 seconds to play. 

Simmons College was able to seal though, getting three stops and knocking down five free throws. 

The Phoenix are back on the court in 12 days as they take on Warner College in Florida on December 14th.