Lexington, KY - The Berea College women's basketball team battled Wisconsin-Eau Claire Saturday afternoon in the Gratz Park Private Wealth Holiday Tournament hosted by Transylvania University, with the Blugolds ultimately slipping past the Mountaineers 57-54.

The tightly-contested contest featured 15 lead changes with neither team able to take control.  Berea's largest lead came at the 6:15 mark in the third quarter as they pushed out to a 35-30 advantage.  But the Blugolds responded with a 6-0 run and led 40-37 after the third quarter.  A three-pointer from junior Drea Satori and a jumper by junior Dailyn Spalding again gave the Mountaineers the lead early in the 4th quarter, but UW-Eau Claire answered with a 9-2 run to grab a 52-46 edge with 2:24 remaining in the game.  The Blugolds never surrendered the lead, holding off several Berea rallies late to earn the win.

Freshman Atyia Moss led the Mountaineers with 13 points, and junior Jayden Merriweather had 11.  Sophomore LynKaylah James added six points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds for Berea, who out-rebounded the Blugolds 49-38.  The Mountaineers shot 34% from the floor, including 6-17 from behind the arc.

The Mountaineers will wrap up the non-conference portion of their schedule Saturday afternoon against Edgewood (Madison, WI).  Tip-off for that contest is 1:00 PM at the Clive Beck Center on the campus of Transylvania University.