Survive and advance. That's the mantra the Lady Tigers can take from their opening round game at the Women's Basketball National Tournament in Jackson, Tenn. where they pulled away late for a 64-55 win over LSU Shreveport.

"Hey, really that was only the second game, even for our seniors, that we've played in this arena," said coach Ginger Colvin. "I'm sure a lot of it was nerves, but maybe this will allow us to relax a little bit."

Campbellsville made a habit of pulling away in the game. The Lady Tigers pulled away from a 21-all tie with 3:40 to go in the first half to lead by four, 25-21, at the half.

But LSU Shreveport would not go away. After CU took a 28-22 lead barely two minutes into the second half, LSU tied the score for the sixth time two minutes later. Shreveport was able to manufacture a four-point lead (41-37) on Sharday Cotton's putback at the 12:35 mark.

Whitney Ballinger, who led all scorers and rebounders in the game, connected on a 3-point bucket  to give CU a lead they would never relinquish. The Lady Tigers led by 10 with 4:29 to go and were up by six when Ballinger fed senior Kristi Ensminger for a layup.

"That pass from Whitney seemed to give us momentum and relaxed us somewhat," said Colvin.

Ensminger finished the game with seven points and four rebounds. She was supported by Courtney Danis' 10 points and eight boards.

Campbellsville hit only 4-26 from 3 and Shreveport hit twice as many 3s on the same number of shots.

"I knew we were going to get shots," said Colvin. "They were packing back on Whitney and doing a good job. They're a good team."

Ballinger followed an eight-point first half with a 17-point second. She led all rebounders with 15 and she blocked 11 shots for her second triple-double of the season.

Campbellsville got nearly everyone involved in the first half as nine players reached the scoring column, but seven of them had two points. Ten CU players scored in the game.

Campbellsville ended up in a 52-43 advantage in rebounding and shot 33 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free throw line. The Lady Tigers held LSU to 29 percent shooting.

The win gives Campbellsville a 32-2 worksheet. LSU falles to 23-7. Next up will be Trevecca Nazarene (22-10) on Friday at 9 CDT. The game will be televised on Comcast Cable Channel 10 and broadcast on local radio, K-Country 105.7 FM in Campbellsville. Online, video can be seen on a pay-per-view basis at WatchNAIA.com and a free radio stream is available at WTCOSports.com.



Scoring

Campbellsville (64) - Ballinger 25, Thomas 2, Heaton 6, Messer 4, Danis 10, Lee 4, Isaacs 2, Williams 2, Dunn 2 and Ensminger 7.

LSU (55) - Huizar 13, Hollins 3, Dtafford 10, Edwards 11, Cotton 8, Warren 3 and Davis 7.


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