FRANKFORT, Ky. – Campbellsville University's quest for another NAIA quarterfinal appearance fell one game short Friday night, as the 14th ranked Lady Tigers were dominated on the glass and unable to overcome a second half surge by top-ranked Freed-Hardeman University, 71-52, in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship at the Frankfort Convention Center.
"We played hard and did a lot of things we wanted to do. We just fell short," said CU head coach Ginger Colvin.
One area that the Lady Tigers fell short was on the glass. The Lady Tigers were out rebounded 44 to 20, including 19 FHU offensive rebounds.
"That's been our Achilles heel all season. We went with a smaller lineup and did a good job early. We've got good rebounders, just not experience," CU head coach Ginger Colvin said. "When you get somewhere like this, you've got to be able to rebound the basketball. You're not going to win games, if you don't."
Both teams took a few minutes to get going Thursday night, but five early points by Cumberland's Natalie Shumpert helped set the tone for a 10-point first half for the senior 2,000-point club member. She led the Lions to a nine-point lead, 18-9, with 9:39 to play in the opening half. Campbellsville slowly chipped away in the first half, cutting the margin to three, 30-27, on Katie Allen's second 3-pointer of the game with 2:17 to play. Senior Mrashi Karumba, a transfer from Freed-Hardeman's rival Union University, later drained a game-tying 3 with 31 seconds left, to make the score, 30-30, entering halftime.
Campbellsville freshman starter Lindsey Burd gave the Lady Tigers their first lead of the game to open the second half after a FHU turnover and steal by Mackenzie Lee. Lee followed with a 3-pointer to put Campbellsville up five, 35-30. While momentum appeared to be in favor of the in-state team, five points proved to be the large CU lead of the night.
The lead swapped hands four times early in the second half before Freed-Hardeman streaked ahead on a 13-0 run. The Lady Tigers went cold from the field, missing three shots and tuning the ball over three times as Freed rallied. Tate banked in a 3-point shot from the wing as the shot clock expired with 10:46 to play. The basket made it a 10-point game, 52-42, and was the breaking point. Tate followed with a second 3 from the right corner, across from FHU's bench.
Ellen Sholtes ended the run with a basket, but Freed only strung together another one. This time it was a 9-0 burst to lead by 20 points, 64-44, with 4:50 to play. The Lions coasted the rest of the way.
"They banked that 3 and came right back down and hit that other 3. We were winded at that point. I had all of my defense in and couldn't sub and got a bad rotation going, and it snowballed from there," Colvin said.
Freed-Hardeman leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing an average of 47.2 points per game. CU's offensive production was its second lowest of the season, second only to a 49 point total against Cumberland (Tenn.) in the same building two weeks during the Mid-South Conference championship game.
Shumpert posted a 21-point performance and four steals to lead Freed. Maria Bagwell followed with a double-double 16 points and 10 points, while Ashley Tate chipped in 13 points and seven assists.
Karumba was the only Lady Tiger to score in double figures with 11 points, eight in the first half. Lee followed with nine, while senior 3-point shooter Courtney Clifton was held to seven points.
The game was the final one for four CU seniors: five-year Lady Tiger Keisha Competon, four-year scorer Mackenzie Lee, three-year 3-point stand out Courtney Clifton and Karumba, who joined the team over the summer.
Clifton and Lee finish their career side-by-side on the Lady Tigers' all-time scoring list with a combined 2,954 points. Clifton finishes with 1,492, while Lee has 1,462. Both Clifton and Lee were NAIA Scholar Athletes and Capitol One CoSIDA Academic All-District selections for their work in the class room in addition to on the court.
"I'm proud of our four seniors. I think they were one game shy of tying the most wins by a senior class but were right in the hunt. All four are going to have their degrees, and I couldn't be prouder of all of them in their own unique ways. I'm real happy with them," Colvin said.
Campbellsville finishes its season with a 25-10 record with its 21st appearance in the national tournament.
Freed-Hardeman (33-1) will meet Vanguard (Calif.) in the quarterfinals Saturday at 6 p.m. EDT.
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To continue following the Lady Tigers as they journey through the NAIA National Championships, visit the team's tournament central webpage, here. Richard RoBards, CU assistant sports information director and a Lady Tiger travel companion, will also post a behind the scenes daily diary entry.
