UPLAND, Ind.—Cumberland trailed by 15 in the fourth quarter, but Kayla Gordon led the Phoenix with a fourth quarter comeback attempt. CU had a chance to tie it to send it to overtime at the horn, but the three was off the mark giving Lawrence Tech a 77-74 win to finish the Trojan Classic. 

Gordon posted a career-high with 36 points, her second game this season with 30 or more points. She was 13-of-24 from the field with seven rebounds and 10-of-11 from the line. 

Lindsey Freeman scored 14 points with eight rebounds and three assists. Freeman finished 3-of-10 from the field and 8-for-8 from the line. Myajae Eubanks added 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. 

The trio combined for 64 of the team's 74 points as Cumberland just got six points off the bench. In the last two game's Cumberland's bench has totaled 10 points. 

On the flip side of that, it was the bench for Lawrence Tech that pushed them over the top. The Blue Devils bench scored 51 of the team's points led by Gracie Bob with 20 points on six made threes. Dede Smith scored 18 on 7-of-9 shooting and Julie Huey, who had just three made three-pointers on the season, hit three in this game to finish with 13 points. 

Cumberland (7-6) shot 40.0% from the field on 24-for-60, but did not hit a three in the contest going 0-for-6 from three. The Phoenix did get to the free throw line 33 times making 26 free throws. 

Where CU struggled today, Lawrence Tech shined hitting 11 triples. The Blue Devils shot 46.6% from the field and 40.7% from beyond the arc. 

Gordon started the game scoring the first five points for the Phoenix completing an and-one for a 5-4 lead in the first few minutes. 

The Phoenix also got Eubanks going early as she scored the next six points in the paint for Cumberland and the Colston hit a deep two for a 13-7 lead. 

Leading 17-10, Maddie Brillhart and Gordon were perfect on two separate trips to the charity stripe and Gordon kissed on off the glass before the horn for a 23-15 lead after the first. 

After Gordon made a basket on Cumberland's first trip in the second gave Cumberland a 10-point lead, the Blue Devils started knocking down triples from outside to get them back in the game. Huey hit a three off the bench to spark the LTU side. 

AC Whitehead got one-of two free throws to go to lead 28-20, but after that a quick 6-0 run on and-one and a triple cut it to two. The Phoenix pushed it back out to four at 34-30, but Huey hit a two and then followed with a three to give the Blue Devils the lead. Cumberland answered with Gordon to get the lead back, but Bob hit a three from the wing to give LTU a 36-35 lead at the half. 

Out of the half, Eubanks scored to reclaim the lead, but LTU answered with another 5-0 spurt to get back up by four, 41-37, with 6:13 left in the third. 

Trailing 45-43, the Blue Devils went on a 6-0 spurt with a three and an old-school three on their next two trips down the floor to get up by eight. Lawrence Tech took a seven-point lead into the fourth up 56-49. 

Eubanks made two free throws to start the fourth for a 56-51, but after that Cumberland got stuck on 51 for three minutes. During that time, the Lawrence Tech was able to get up by 10 before an intentional foul sent Kate Jacobs to the line for two points. On the ensuing possession, Bobo knocked down another three to lead by 15 with six minutes to play. 

This is where the Phoenix fourth comeback started. Cumberland went on a 7-0 run as Gordon scored five in the stretch and Eubanks added a bucket. Again, Bobo nailed a triple and the Blue Devils followed with a stop and a basket to push it back out to 13 at 71-58 with 2:56 left. 

Another 5-0 run by the Phoenix made it an eight point game, but a tough basket by Dede Smith made it a double-figure lead again at 73-63 with 1:34. 

From this point, Cumberland attacked the basket and drew fouls to get to the line while forcing LTU into turnovers trying to get across half court. Gordon and Freeman each made two free throws apiece to get within six. A free throw from LTU made it a seven-point lead, but Gordon answered with an and-one to make it four with 37 seconds to go. 

Another free throw from the Blue Devils made it a five-point lead, but Gordon went right to the rack for two points. Freeman forced a steal and dished it up to Gordon for another two points to make it 75-74 with eight seconds. 

Cumberland was forced to foul and this team Bobo hit both to make it a three point lead. After a timeout, Gordon tried to tie the game with a triple, but the shot missed giving Lawrence Tech the win. 

This was the final game of 2023 for the Phoenix as they will be off through the new year and return to action on January 5 in an exhibition at Samford.