CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Lady Tiger basketball met up with Mid-South Conference foe University of the Cumberlands this afternoon, CU held UC to only 27 percent shooting from the floor to beat the Lady Patriots, 58-44.

 

"That was a big win for us against a very good team," said coach Ginger Colvin. "We struggled at times with turning the ball over but did not let that phase us at the end and overcame it all."

 

The Lady Tigers pushed out to a 17-point lead off a UC turnover and Daizah Kimberland layup. But Cumberlands was able to work the lead down to single digits with 4:57 left.

 

The Lady Patriots whitled it to six points on two free throws by Thali Rodrigues. But Caroline Owen hit a 15-foot jumper from the corner and got the lead back to eight points.

 

Campbellsville did come into today's matchup ranked No. 3 in the nation shooting 40.9 percent from the 3-point arc. But the Lady Tigers struggled from behind the arch today, hitting 4-for-17 for 23.5 percent.

 

Point guard Katie Allen, who did not start today for the first time in 89 games, stepped up big when her team needed her. The senior from Fort Thomas, Ky. received a pass from Angie Lawrence and hit a big 3-pointer off the left wing to put the Lady Tigers up 11 with 2:30 left.

 

"That was a huge 3 for Katie and the team," said Colvin. "That was a confidence booster for her but put the game out of reach for Cumberlands."

 

Cumberlands' leading scorer, Brooke Forsythe, picked up her third foul with 16:22 left in the first half. The following possession Kimberland picked up an offensive rebound and passed out to Caroline Owen for the first 3-point basket of the afternoon.

 

Kimberland started to hit the boards in bunches with Forsythe out of the game. The junior from Bardstown, Ky. picked up three offensive rebounds in the first half and scored 11 points. She finished with 13 points and 11 boards for her second double-double of the season. Her previous feat came against Brescia University (13 and 10).

 

In the last three games Kimberland is shooting 18-for-30 (60 percent) and has scored 41 points for an average of 13.6 points a game.

 

After Forsythe checked out of the game for Cumberlands, the fouls started to rack up for both teams. In the first half, both teams were called for a total of 23 fouls. Both teams finished with a combined 53 fouls.

 

Campbellsville used that to its advantage and hit a season-best 12-for-16 from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes. That was the difference, as Cumberlands only hit 8-for-15 in the first 20 minutes.

 

"We shot well from the free-throw line in the first half," said Colvin. "Lindsey Burd was perfect 4-for-4 and we tried to get to the rim off the dribble with our gurads."

 

The Lady Tiger defense also stepped up their game as Colvin went to a smaller and quicker lineup. CU picked up seven steals in the opening 13 minutes and scored 14 points off those UC turnovers.

 

"We stepped up our defensive pressure to try and speed the game up as Cumberlands likes to play possession basketball. But we have to be able to force those turnovers and not foul like we did. And also not turn the ball over ourselves," said Colvin. "We did not bench the normal starters for punishment. We have been starting slow as a team in the opening seven-to-eight minutes of the games and we wanted to mix things us and not get stagnant."

 

Campbellsville opened the second half and used that pressure from the defensive side but were called for seven fouls and only picking up two steals in the first four minutes. Cumberlands capitalized and hit 7-for-8 from the free throw line but only hit 23-for-34 (67.6 percent) on the day. That is under UC's season average of 81.7 percent from the charity stripe.  

 

The Lady Tigers kept hitting the boards though as Burd and Owen picked up offensive rebounds on the same possession.

 

CU out-rebounded Cumberlands 42-30 and 19-10 on the offensive boards.

 

Both teams struggled with turnovers though. Campbellsville forced 33 turnovers but had a season-high 29 itself.

 

Campbellsville held UC to 27.8 percent from the floor which is the lowest since December 29 when the Lady Tigers held Hiwassee College to a season low 18.6 percent.

 

With the win, CU moves to 14-2 overall and 5-1 MSC. It is the first time since 2008-09 the Lady Tigers have started the season 14-2.

 

Colvin improved her record to 8-9 against Cumberlands and will try to get back to .500 when the two teams meet up in Williamsburg on Thursday, Feb. 2.

 

The Lady Tigers will resume play next week on the road. CU plays Shawnee State University Thursday, Jan. 16 with tip-off set for 6 p.m. ET. Then they will travel from SSU to the University of Rio Grande with a matchup against the RedStorm on Saturday, Jan. 18. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET.

 

To follow Campbellsville on the road, go to www.WLCUFM.com and WLCU 88.7 in Campbellsville and surrounding cities. Also check out the Lady Tigers on Twitter - @CU_LTB and @CvilleTigers. And on Facebook – Campbellsville Lady Tiger Basketball and Campbellsville Tigers.