RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- After a slow start in the first half, Campbellsville University didn't get going offensively until 13 minutes were off the clock, however the second half was all Lady Tiger basketball, as CU blew past host University of Rio Grande for an 84-68 Mid-South Conference win. 



It took nearly 14 minutes for Campbellsville to take its first lead of the game, 25-22, as Melly Heaton fueled a 13-2 CU run with eight straight points after being down by seven points early.

While the Lady Tigers were hoping to pull away before the half, they trailed at the break, 35-33, but shot out of the gate in the second half. After Heaton tied the game, 37-37, for her 10th point of the game, Whitney Ballinger grabbed a defensive rebound and dished it to Courtney Danis for a go-ahead 3. From there, it was also Lady Tigers. Courtney Clifton scored eight of CU's next 10 points to take the first double-digit lead of the night, 50-40, with 16 minutes left.

Rio wasn't ready to lay down yet, as Bre Davis capped off a 7-point run, which pulled the RedStorm within five, 52-47. Enter CU junior Megan Isaacs, who hit a 3 off the bench and sparked another Lady Tiger run to the buzzer.

"This team is us two years ago. They're absolutely loaded with offense ... They are probably the best offensive team in the conference," CU head coach Ginger Colvin said. "We started kind of groggy, which is to be expected. We came up last night and there's not much to do. We maintained and didn't get rattled at all."

Ballinger finished the night with a double-double, 20 points and 13 rebounds, as she passed the 1,500-point mark for her career to move into 12th-place on the Lady Tigers' all-time scoring list. Two spots above Ballinger is Danis, who also scored 20 points and now has 1,569 points in her career. Ballinger also collected four assists and three blocks to give her 300 blocks in 79 games played.

"She's such a selfless player," Colvin said of Ballinger. "She had three assists in a row and got other players involved, and that gave us all the momentum in the second half."

Heaton, who had eight points in the first half, finished with 15 points and four assists. Courtney Clifton bounced back from an off night shooting last Saturday to shoot 6-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from long range and 2-of-2 at the line, to score 17 points and also had eight rebounds.

Rio had four players in double digits, led by Jenna Smith's 22 points, Kaylee Helton's 15, Davis' 12 and Leah Kendro had 10.

Campbellsville moves to 8-2 on the season and 3-0 in MSC play as it travels to West Virginia Tech on Saturday for a 2 p.m. start. Jay Turner and Robert Bauer will call the action on KCountry1057.com and K-Country 105.7 FM.