JACKSON, Tenn. - Another combined effort by Campbellsville University sent the Lady Tigers past Langston University, 80-67, and into the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball quarterfinals for the second straight year. Campbellsville (30-3) will meet Freed-Hardeman University in Oman Arena at 8 p.m. CDT Saturday.

The win locked up Campbellsville's second 30-win season in program history after going 33-3 last season and marks the first time the Lady Tigers have appeared in back-to-back NAIA quarterfinals.

"I didn't realize that," CU head coach Ginger Colvin said. "Obviously, this summer when we think about the season, and all of that, it's going to be a great thing, but right now we're just trying to stay alive and advance, and we're doing a pretty good job. We've put two good days together and just have to do one more before we can get a break."

Courtney Clifton and Whitney Ballinger once again teamed up to lead the Lady Tigers with 18 and 17 points, respectively, while five other Lady Tigers scored at least seven points.

"In every position on the floor, they were quicker than us and stronger than us. I just thought we really out-willed them tonight," Colvin said. "Our kids played extremely, extremely hard, everyone of them. It was a pretty balanced attack, and I think that's what it's going to take to win the tournament. To keeping winning we need to be as balanced as we've been the past two games"

CU jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first three minutes of play, but Langston cut it to five, 11-6, before Melly Heaton hit a 3 with 12:10 to play in the opening half. She hit two more 3s in the first 20 minutes, including one to stretch CU's lead to 25 points, 39-14. The Lady Tigers built the lead with an 18-8 run over six minutes while Langston's leading scorer Stephanie Madden was on the bench with two fouls.

The Lady Tigers entered halftime up 42-20 and shooting 56.67 percent after displaying one of the best single-half offensive performances of the tournament. CU shot in the low- to mid-60s most of the opening half.

In the second half, Campbellsville grew its lead to as many as 27 points, 54-27, when senior T.J. Thomas hit a 3 for her first career NAIA Tournament field goal with 14 minutes to play. It was the largest lead of the tournament for the Lady Tigers.

In the final seven minutes, Campbellsville saw its lead shrink, as Langston put together a 17-3 run to cut the difference to nine, 71-62, on a pair of free throws from Madden. She finished with a double-double 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Courtney Clifton answered the rally with a 3 to push the Lady Tigers' lead back to 12. From there, Mackenzie Lee hit two free throws and Ballinger hit 1-of-2 to maintain Campbellsville's lead.

The Lady Tigers' won the rebound battle, 38-34. Corin Dunn led CU with seven rebounds to go with her nine points, followed by six from Ballinger, five from Megan Isaacs and four by Clifton. Isaacs led CU with three blocks, while Ballinger added two. Courtney Danis and Heaton joined Dunn with nine points, while Isaacs and Lee had eight and seven, respectively.

Ashlea Gray led Langston with 17 points and Jenissa Harris also scored in double-figures with 14 points.


Campbellsville will play in the final quarterfinal game Saturday at 8 p.m. CDT. Fellow Mid-South Conference team Shawnee State University will challenge Oklahoma City University at 2 p.m. to start the day, followed by a 4 p.m. game between Azusa Pacific University and Lubbock Christian University. The defending national champion, Union University, will take on Westminster (Utah) at 6 p.m.

The Lady Tigers' NAIA quarterfinal game can be watched live on WLCU Comcast Cable Channel 10 in Campbellsville or online at WatchNAIA.com. Jay Turner and Robert Bauer will call the action on the radio in Central Kentucky on K-Country 105.7 FM and online at KCountry1057.com.

In addition to game day coverage, CU Sports Information Assistant, and Lady Tiger travel companion, Richard RoBards, will keep fans updated from the NAIA DI Women's Basketball Tournament with his diary log. Complete tournament coverage of Lady Tiger Basketball can be found, here.