PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Molly Brown scored a game-high 25 points, including the go-ahead basket with 53 seconds remaining, as Bryan College held off Pikeville 69-68 in a heart-stopping Appalachian Athletic Conference match-up on Wednesday night.

The Lady Lions (12-4, 10-1 AAC) survived a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Bears to secure their 10th conference victory of the season.

Brown's late-game heroics proved decisive as she converted a layup with under a minute to play, giving Bryan a 69-67 advantage. After Pikeville's Jaidy Mejia-Andrade made one of two free throws with 33 seconds left to cut the deficit to one, the Bears had two chances in the final seconds but couldn't convert. Sophie Adkins' layup attempt with three seconds remaining was off the mark, and Kadee Ferrell secured the defensive rebound to seal the victory.

"Really proud of our team for going on the road and beating a very good Pikeville squad," said Head Coach Matt Bollant. "It had been a while since we'd been able to get one against them, and our players stepped up and made big plays when it mattered," he continued. "Credit to Pikeville—they made a strong run at us in the fourth quarter," he added.

Bryan appeared in control for much of the contest, building leads of up to 15 points in the third quarter. The Lions dominated the paint, outscoring Pikeville 46-18 in that category, while also converting 18 points off turnovers compared to just 10 for the Bears.

However, Pikeville mounted a dramatic comeback in the final period, outscoring Bryan 24-16 in the fourth quarter. Allie Stone's three-pointer with 1:10 remaining tied the game at 67-67, setting up Brown's decisive bucket.

Alyssa Petty added 12 points and six rebounds for Bryan, while Kaylynn Walls contributed nine points despite battling foul trouble. Ferrell was dominant on the glass with 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.

Jaaliyah Warren led Pikeville with 17 points, though she struggled with efficiency, shooting just 6-of-20 from the field. Mejia-Andrade recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, while Kyra McAlarnis provided a spark off the bench with eight points, including two crucial fourth-quarter three-pointers.

The Bears' superior three-point shooting (36.4% to 20.0%) and free-throw accuracy (87.5% to 60.0%) kept them in the game, but Bryan's physicality in the paint and ability to generate second-chance opportunities proved to be the difference.

The Lady Lions will host Bluefield at home on Saturday for another AAC match-up.