COLUMBIA, Ky. - A capacity crowd on the road proved to be no factor Thursday for the No. 21 Campbellsville University Lady Tigers, as they controlled the game for a 98-82 win over rival Lindsey Wilson College.
Campbellsville led by double figures for most of the game after topping out with a 19-point lead in the first half, 55-36, in front of more than 1,300 fans mostly dressed in Lindsey Wilson blue.
"The way our kids played in this environment, I'm absolutely thrilled to death," said CU head coach
Ginger Colvin. "I don't care if I have front row seats at Rupp Arena, this is just as good of a college atmosphere environment."
Courtney Clifton helped silence the Blue Raider fans 11 minutes into the game with back-to-back 3s en route to a 23-point night. Helping steadily along the way was
Hayley Hellyer with a career-high 18 points, including 12 in the first half to help CU take a 57-42 halftime lead.
Lindsey Wilson broke out on a 22-10 run in the second half to cut the Lady Tiger lead to three, 67-64, on a pair of Ashley Rainey free throws. The junior forward matched the LWC record for free throws made in a game with a 15-of-21 mark from the charity stripe. Rainey finished the night with 33 points and 18 rebounds.
"I've said all year that Lindsey Wilson is a team that can make a scare in the national tournament, and they showed it tonight," Colvin said. "We threw everything at Ashley Rainey, and she still had a big night … We knew we'd get in foul trouble guarding her."
But Lindsey Wilson's attempt to make the game close was short lived, as the Lady Tigers scored 17 of the next 22 points to return to a 15-point lead, 84-69. CU maintained down the stretch, holding the ball for the final 20 seconds to run out the clock.
Sophomore point guard
Katie Allen paced CU all night with a career-high 13 assists. She helped Craig finish with 14 points in the game,
Mackenzie Lee had 14 and
Megan Isaacs had 10.
The win locked up the No. 4 seed for Campbellsville in next week's Mid-South Conference Tournament. CU will face either St. Catharine or Rio Grande in the first round of the MSC Tournament, March 1.
Campbellsville (19-10) will travel to No. 8 University of the Cumberlands on Saturday as it look to collect its 20
th win and seal an at large spot in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. Tipoff Saturday is 2 p.m. ET at the Wayne Rollins Center in Williamsburg, Ky. The game will be broadcast live on WLCU 88.7 FM and
wlcufm.com.
BOX SCORE
STAT SUMMARY
Lady Tigers (98) - Jehlik 8, Clifton 23, Hellyer 18, Craig 14, Lee 13, Allen 6, Compton 4, Kimberland 2, Isaacs 10, Totals
42-78 9-12 98.
Lindsey Wilson (82) - Rainey 33, Niamke 15, Brimm 16, Litzinger 8, Gillis 6, Williams 2, Franklin 2. Totals 27-67 21-30 82.
Half-time - Campbellsville 57-42.
Three-point goals - Campbellsville 5-15 (Clifton 4, Lee 1), Lindsey Wilson 7-28 (Brimm 4, Niamke 1, Litzinger 1, Gillis 1).
Rebounds - Campbellsville 39 (Craig 7, Jehlik 6, Allen 6, Hellyer 5), Lindsey Wilson 44 (Rainey 18, Niamke 5, Litzinger 5, Copley 5).
Assists - Campbellsville 29 (Allen 13, Hellyer 4, Lee 4, Compton 3, Craig 2, Isaacs 2), Lindsey Wilson 12 (Franklin 4, Niamke 3, Gillis 2, Rainey 1, Brimm 1, Litzinger 1).
Steals - Campbellsville 7 (Compton 2, Clifton 2, Hellyer 1, Lee 1, Isaacs 1), Lindsey Wilson 9 (Franklin 3, Niamke 2, Brimm 2, Gillis 1, Copley 1).
