CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - The Campbellsville University Lady Tiger basketball team got its season off on a high note on Friday against Miami University Middletown, defeating the ThunderHawks 94-48. Every member of the CU squad put points on the board to contribute to the victory. 

"A win is always a great thing for the first game," said head coach Ginger Colvin, who is 6-0 in home openers. "You want to get a first win like that, but you also want to figure out what we can improve on, who has done well, just little things that can improve our whole team."

Prior to tip-off, senior guard Mackenzie Lee was awarded a ball for scoring her 1,000th career point in last year's MSC Tournament semifinal game against the University of the Cumberlands.  The Mount Sterling, Ky. native joins her sister, former Lady Tiger Whitney Lee, in the 1,000th Point Club. 

Lee proved she will continue to be an offensive asset this season, scoring three in a row from behind the arc early in the first half, giving CU an early 9-0 lead and setting the tone for the rest of the game. 

"It was good to get that win and the first game under our belt," said Lee. "We have a lot to work on but I love this team and the potential we have. We definitely can do some big things this year."

The Lady Tigers quickly took control, their biggest lead of the half being 25 points at the 11:31 mark. 

Senior guard, Keisha Compton led the team in the initial 20 minutes with 12 points. Campbellsville went into the locker room up 46-28. 

CU didn't hold back in the second half, going on a 13-4 run in the first 2:30. From that point on the gap continued to widen. Not only did every Lady Tiger on the bench get minutes, but all scored, with a total of 94 points from 16 different players — 51 of those points coming from the bench. 

Courtney Clifton, senior guard from Lexington, Ky., led the team in rebounding (6) while Lee led in assists (4) and scoring (15). Compton was the second leading scorer with 12 points followed by Clifton with 10.

The Lady Tigers beat the ThunderHawks in every category including field goal percentage (60 percent to 32), free-throw percentage (61percent to 55), rebounds (56-33), assists (22-9), and steals (12-6). 

Campbellsville (1-0) capitalized on Miami Middletown's (0-1) mistakes, scoring 32 points off  26 ThunderHawk turnovers. 

The next CU game will be on the road on Monday, Nov. 5 against Columbia College in Missouri. 

"Monday is a tough, tough game for us," said Colvin. "We head to Columbia, Mo. to face a team who is ranked 23rd in the country. It is a very hard place to play. We have seen them on film once and they have a really good team. They beat us at their place last year and they return a Third Team All-American and have added a lot of nice players as well. Hopefully we can get better and go up there for a win. That would be a great victory for us."

The Lady Tigers are currently ranked 13th in the nation and third in the Mid-South Conference. To follow the team, go to www.campbellsvilletigers.com.

Lady Tigers (94) — Burd 10, Craig 2, Lee 15, Allen 6, Clifton 10, Owen 2, Compton 12, Kimberland 7, Shelley 2, Jacob 6, Jehlik 4, Sholtes 2, Hellyer 2, Ramage 2, Karumba 8, Young 4. Totals 37-79 14-23 94.

Miami-Middletown (48) — Washington 7, Weber 4, Costa 5, Heard 3, Thornton 18, Lewis 4, Ketterer 7. Totals 17-53 12-22 48.

Half-time — Campbellsville 46-28.

Three-point goals – Miami 2-9, Campbellsville 6-16 (Lee 5, Clifton 1).

Rebounds – Miami 33 (Thornton 8), Campbellsville 56 (Clifton 6, Allen 5, Jacob 5, Jehlik 5).

Assists – Miami 9 (Thornton 2, Ketterer 2), Campbellsville 22 (Lee 4, Allen 4, Clifton 3, Owen 3, Kimberland 2, Sholtes 2, Hellyer 2).

Steals — Miami 6, Campbellsville 12 (Lee 2, Jacob 2).

STATS