WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – Senior Ellen Sholtes recorded her first collegiate double-double, as she led the Lady Tigers to a 76-65 win over the Lady Patriots of University of the Cumberlands.
Sholtes tied a career-high 20 points but also grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. Lindsey Burd also tied her career-high with 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
"Ellen played great tonight," said CU Lady Tiger head coach Ginger Colvin. "She not only scored for us but she hit the boards and was able to find the open players when needed. She hit Daizah (Kimberland) slashing through the lane during that 11-0 run and boosted us the rest of the game. It was a big game for Ellen."
Fifth-ranked Campbellsville University and No. 23 University of the Cumberland were neck-and-neck throughout the game, but the Lady Tigers went on an 11-0 run with 6:23 left in regulation and was able to put the game out of Cumberland's reach. The Lady Tigers held Jackie Alexander to zero second-half points after she scored 16 in the first 20 minutes.
"There was no change at halftime besides guarding her," said Colvin. "She hit some great shots in the first half, and we couldn't do much more besides put a hand in her face."
Campbellsville and Cumberlands both started out sloppy. CU entered the game turning the ball over only 14 times per 40 minutes and had nine in the first 14 minutes. But Campbellsville settled down and had only five turnovers in the remaining 26 minutes. The Lady Tigers forced seven early turnovers as well and forced 18 total throughout the night.
The Lady Patriots went cold and didn't score a point from the 16:20 to the 10:59 mark in the first half but Campbellsville was only able to take a 13-10 lead. Cumberlands used a mini 5-2 run out of the first media timeout to gain the lead, 15-13.
But Caroline Owen would not let the Lady Patriots' lead stick as she hit the lone first-half 3-pointer for CU to knot the game at 18.
Both teams traded baskets throughout the rest of the first half but neither could get a big lead. There were 14 lead changes and eight ties throughout the first half.
Sholtes and Lindsey Burd led the Lady Tigers early as the duo scored 13 of CU's first 15 points and 21 of the Lady Tigers' 32 halftime points.
Alexander pushed Cumberlands to a 35-32 halftime lead, as she hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. She was held to two points in her last meeting against Campbellsville on Jan. 11.
Cumberlands took a seven-point lead, its largest thus far, at the 19:23 mark in the second half on a 3-pointer by Lynnae Lampkins.
But the Lady Tigers went on an 8-0 run led by Sholtes and Burd. Sholtes dribbled through the lane and lost control of the ball but regained control short after and gave CU a 40-39 lead.
The duo scored all the Lady Tigers' first 10 points of the second half.
CU took its largest lead thus far, 46-41, with 13:29 remaining when Mary Jehlik found a wide-open Hayley Hellyer underneath the basket. Jehlik later hit a 3 off an inbounds pass from Sholtes to extend CU's lead to six, 51-45.
But UC's Brooke Forsythe scored eight straight and cut the lead to only two, 53-51. The junior from Brunswick, Ohio scored 14 second-half points and finished with a game-high 22, but Campbellsville held her scoreless in the final six minutes.
Forsythe came into tonight's matchup with six 20-point-plus performances, including four in her last five games.
Campbellsville's largest lead in the game ended up being 12 points.
With the win, Campbellsville sweeps Cumberlands on the season, as it won earlier on Jan. 11, 58-44. The Lady Tigers move to 21-2 on the year and 11-1 inside the Mid-South Conference. The series is now even, 9-9, over the last seven seasons, with Campbellsville now 3-4 at Cumberlands' O. Wayne Rollins Center.
"It is so hard to come here and play," said Colvin. "It doesn't matter where we are ranked or sit inside the conference, Cumberlands is always a tough opponent and these games are always battles."
Campbellsville will now travel to No. 8 Georgetown College on Saturday Feb. 8 in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Game of the Week. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST in the Davis-Reid Alumni Gym.
In addition to being the NAIA Game of the Week, the game will also be featured as a Play4Kay Foundation Play for the Cure game to join the fight against cancer. All proceeds from T-shirt sales and other things will go to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
To follow CU Lady Tigers throughout the rest of the season, check them out on Twitter - @LTB_CU and @CvilleTigers and also on Facebook – Campbellsville Tigers.
Stats:
Points: Sholtes 20, Burd 20, Kimberland 12, Allen 8, Hellyer 6, Jehlik 5, Owen 3, Grider 2.
Rebounds: Burd 12, Sholtes 10, Allen 7, Kimberland 5, Jehlik 4, Hellyer 3, Owen 2, Lawrence 1.
Assists: Allen 3, Sholtes 2, Kimberland 2, Jehlik 1, Hellyer 1.
FG Perecentage: 42.4 percent (28-for-66)
3-PT Percentage: 22.2 percent (2-for-9)
FT Percentage: 60 percent (18-for-30)
