JACKSON, Tennessee-Christian Brothers University senior guard Mikaela Blissett (Oran, Mo., Scott County Central HS) scored a career-high 19 points, but No. NR/11 Union claimed an 81-65 win Monday night to remain unbeaten in Gulf South Conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Union (10-1, 3-0 GSC) blew open what had been a tie game with a 21-5 run spanning much of the first quarter, building a 28-12 lead on a Tiara Caldwell layup with 55 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs used another 9-0 burst in the second quarter to extend their lead to 40-17 on a Tiara Caldwell layup with 4:26 remaining.
• CBU (2-7, 1-2) used a 7-0 run capped by a Brynne Lytle (Jackson, Tenn./Trinity Christian Academy) three-point play to trim the deficit to 40-24 with 2:26 remaining in the half.
• After the Lady Bucs came within 16 again on a Kelsey Adkins (Lawrenceburg, Tenn./Lawrence County HS) layup late in the third quarter, Union answered with a 10-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 66-40, on an Avree Carpenter triple with 1:01 remaining in the quarter.
• CBU closed the game on a 9-2 run, trimming the final margin to 81-65 as Rafaella Angelidou (Thessaloniki, Greece/Aristoteleio Kollegeio) made a layup in the final seconds.

KEY STATS:
• Blissett scored her career-high 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go with a block and a steal. The career-high in scoring is Blissett's third in three weeks.
• Angelidou also set a career-high with 16 points. She finished 5-of-11 overall, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, and she was 3-of-4 at the free throw line, grabbing three rebounds.
• Lytle added 12 points with three rebounds and two steals.
• Courtney Banks (Memphis, Tenn./White Station HS) returned to the lineup with eight points and three assists.
• The Lady Bucs shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the field but just 20.8 percent (5-of-24) from beyond the arc. Union finished 50 percent (33-of-66) overall, including 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from three-point rang.e
• CBU out-rebounded the Lady Bulldogs 33-30, including a 10-7 edge in offensive rebounds, but they committed 17 turnovers to Union's 12.

WHAT'S NEXT:
After taking time off for Christmas, the Lady Bucs return to action with a pair of home games in the first week of the new year. They will host Auburn-Montgomery Tuesday, Jan. 2 and West Georgia Thursday, Jan. 4, with both games set for 5 p.m. tipoffs.