LEBANON, Tenn. – With first place in the regular-season Mid-South Conference race up for grabs, No. 7 Campbellsville University held on down the stretch against No. 22 Cumberland University, beating the Bulldogs 70-66.
Campbellsville and Cumberland were even across the board all the way until the 12:18 mark of the second half but Campbellsville went on a 13-1 run led by forward Lindsey Burd.
The junior from Hardyville, Ky. scored 14 second-half points and registered a career-high 20 points for the second straight game. She was the catalyst Coach Ginger Colvin was looking for.
"Lindsey got her confidence back during the Lindsey Wilson game and it showed today," said Colvin. "She used her ability and made their big post, Coley, move around more than she is used too."
The Lady Tigers utilized their speed and athleticism down in the post to outplay the bigger forwards for Cumberland.
Burd, Daizah Kimberland and Kristen Jacob made up 32 of the 41 second-half points.
"All of our post players played great today," said Colvin. "We made Coley move out to the outside more and she was not able to guard our forwards for the full 40 minutes of the game."
Cumberland University's leading scorers were Calamity Jane Coley, who Colvin was speaking of, and Casie Cowan. The duo came into the game averaging 32 points between them. Campbellsville kept Coley in check for most of the game as her first point came at the 6:51 mark in the second half and only scoring five throughout the game.
But Cowan was the Bulldog who kept Cumberland in the game. She finished with 28 points and shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the 3-point line.
"Cowan is a great shooter," said Colvin. "She is one of the few girls who can shoot a true jump shot and elevate while doing so. She won the conference for them last season and is a big reason why they came into the game undefeated in the conference."
Campbellsville's starters came out of the gate slow for the second straight game, but it did not take long for Colvin to make the same adjustment she did Thursday night at Lindsey Wilson. The second five (LeeAnn Grider, Angie Lawrence, Caroline Owen, Kimberland and Burd) came into the game at the 15:20 mark and made an instant impact.
The Lady Tigers trailed 13-6 early but Kimberland and Burd both recorded offensive rebounds and made Cumberland pay on consecutive plays down the court and cut the lead to 13-10.
After Cowan hit a free throw to extend the Bulldog lead 14-10, Burd turned in another offensive rebound on a Katie Allen miss and cut the lead to two.
Back down the floor Allen picked up a steal and passed on to LeeAnn Grider who in turn passed back to Allen who caught in rhythm and hit the first 3-pointer of the game for Campbellsville and gave the Lady Tigers their first lead 15-14.
Campbellsville and Cumberland traded baskets as Hayley Hellyer made a 2-point basket and Mary Jehlik hit back-to-back jumpers for the Lady Tigers.
The spark off the bench for Campbellsville was its offensive rebounding and tempo of the game by guards Allen and Grider. Both ballhandlers used an up-tempo pace to catch Cumberland on its heels and drove to the basket to find open teammates.
Campbellsville led Cumberland 19-7 in second-chance points and Burd played a major role in that as she had nine rebounds and five of those from the offensive side.
Down the stretch, Cumberland made it a game but Campbellsville did not falter. Kimberland hit two big jumpers in the final three minutes to keep pace while Katie Smith hit back-to-back jumpers for the Bulldogs and kept them in the game.
Campbellsville hit 4-of-5 free throws down the stretch to hold of the pesky bunch from Cumberland and extended its win steak to six games.
With the win, CU moves to 13-1 for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The Lady Tigers are still perfect inside the MSC (4-0) and will host No. 5 Georgetown College on Thursday, Jan. 9. Game time is set for 6 p.m. ET
"You go from one great team to another," said Colvin. "Our conference is packed with good teams and it will be a tough matchup for us. The girls will get a day off tomorrow and come back Monday rejuvenated and ready to get down to work."
To follow the Lady Tigers throughout the season, check them out on Twitter - @LTB_CU and Campbellsville Athletics - @CvilleTigers. Also, check CU out on Facebook – Campbellsville Tigers.
