FRANKFORT, Ky.  -  Campbellsville used a 14-7 run midway through the first half and stepped by St. Catharine College in the first-round of the Women's Mid-South Conference Tournament, 69-59, Wednesday at the Frankfort Convention Center Arena.



"I though we did what we needed to do to win," said Lady Tiger Coach Ginger Colvin. "We defended the 3 in our match-up zone and beat them on the boards 44-36."

CU got a couple of big games from two sophomores, Katie Allen and Chelsea Craig. Allen, who was ineffective in a 71-65 loss to the Lady Patriots on Feb. 18 because of a shoulder injury, scored 13 points and handed out seven assists. Craig was huge inside with a team-high 16 points and seven boards.

"We were more active than last time, for sure," said Colvin. "We just held a really good offensive team to 59 points. I feel real good about that."

The win gives the Lady Tigers a 20-win season (20-11) and validated their fourth seed in the MSC tourney against the fifth seed SCC. St. Catharine goes out at 21-10.

"Twenty wins with the schedule we played, and as young as we are, is pretty good. I'll take that," said Colvin.

Campbellsville used back-to-back buckets by Mackenzie Lee and Allen to extend a 16-14 lead to 20-14, a lead they would never relinquish.

CU scored the first four points of the second half and had to hold off SCC when it closed to within eight with almost 12 minutes to go in the game. St. Catharine crawled to with six, 48-42, at the nine-minute mark, but a 10-4 run gave the Lady Tigers a working margin as they finished off that game hitting seven of eight from the free throw line.

The Lady Tigers play again Saturday in the semi-finals of the MSC, facing No. 1 seed University of the Cumberlands, a team that owns two wins over the Lady Tigers.

"They're a really good team. But we were so focused on this game that we haven't really thought about it much yet," Colvin continued. "But that's why you lace 'em up at tournament time."

Tipoff is at 2:00. The game will be broadcast over university radio (88.7). A link for listening on the computer can be found at www.campbellsvilletigers.com.

Lady Tigers (69) - Clifton 8, Hellyer 6, Craig 16, Lee 10, Allen 13, Compton 7, Jehlik 5, Iassc 4. Totals 26-59 16-19 69.
St. Catharine (59) - Howard 16, Hofstraat 5, Calhoun 1, Evans 2, Milam 19, Gibson 8, Shrout 2, Poirier 6. Totals 23-67 9-13 59.
Half-time -  Campbellsville 32-23.
Three-point goals - St. Catharine 4-20 (Milan 2, Howard 1, Hofstraat 1), Campbellsville 1-12 (Jehlik 1).
Rebounds - St. Catharine 36 (Howard 6, Evans 7), Campbellsville 434 (Craig 7, Clifton 7, Jehlik 7, Lee 5).
Assists - St. Catharine 11(Calhoun 4), Campbellsville 10 (Allen 7).
Steals - St. Catharine 12 (Milam 3, Howard 3), Campbellsville 9 (Lee 3, Allen 2).