COLUMBIA, Mo. -  Campbellsville could not dust off enough cobwebs in the opening game of the Cost Cutters Cougars vs. Cancer Classic at Columbia College losing Friday afternoon to William Woods, 59-53.



"We missed a bunch of bunnies in the first half, many of them lay-ups," said Coach Ginger Colvin. "We just weren't very good tonight."

After the Lady Owls whittled a 10-point first-half lead at the 5:54 mark to five (21-16), the Lady Tigers went on a 7-1 run to close out the half for a 28-17 lead, helped by a buzzer-beating layup by Chelsea Craig.

Keisha Compton scored all seven of her first-half points to push CU (10-5, 1-2) to a 13-5 lead at the 9:54 mark. Then Courtney Clifton scored seven of her nine first-half points the remainder of the way to intermission.

But in the second half the Lady Tigers watched that lead evaporate. When Ciara Tatum hit a long jumper midway through, William Woods owned a 39-38 lead that they would never relinquish.

During William Woods' 19-10 run Campbellsville committed two consecutive turnovers and an offensive foul.

"I thought Keisha (Compton) played well for us," said Colvin. "If everyone could have matched her intensity ... maybe we would have been better off."

Campbellsville tied the game at 44-44 when Megan Isaacs hit a bucket. But the Lady Owls (8-4) had a mini 10-4 run that gave Woods enough of a margin that Campbellsville was put in a position that it had to foul.

Katie Scherder, Destani Stensrud and Sharron Andrews combined for 6-8 free throws down the stretch, keeping CU at bay.

Campbellsvile had a horrendous shooting night, hitting 28 percent of its shots (2-14 3-pointers). William Woods, which hit 25 percent of its first-half shots, connected on 52 percent in the second half as they erased the 11-point half-time deficit.

"On the road you're not going to win a lot of games the way we played tonight," said Colvin. "We made a lot of mental mistakes. We knew who to foul and then would let that girl give it up to someone who's a good shooter."

Courtney Clifton hit a late 3 and led CU with 18 points. Compton joined her in double figures with 11. Andrews had 17 for Woods and was joined in double figures by Stensrud (13) and Megan Aubuchon (11).

The Lady Tigers play again tomorrow against host Columbia College at 7:00 EST.

Lady Tigers (53) - Lee 8, Compton 11, Jehlik 8, Isaacs 4, Clifton 18, Craig 4. Totals 18-65 15-20 53.
William Woods (59) - Stensrud 13, Andrews 17, Taylor 4, Scherder 3, Tatum 4, Aubuchon 11, Loesch 7 . Totals 20-51 18-24 59.
Half-time: Lady Tigers Campbellsville 28-17.
Three-point goals - Woods 1-9 (Andrews 1), Campbellsville 2-14 (Clifton2).
Rebounds - Woods 38 (Andrews 16), Campbellsville 45 (Clifton 11, Craig 9).
Assists - Woods 18 (Andrews 2, French 2, Scherder 2), Campbellsville 11 (Allen 5).
Steals - Woods 10 (Stensrud 3, Andrews 3), Campbellsville 10 (Lee 3, Allen 2, Compton 2, Isaacs 2).