FRANKFORT, Ky. — Lady Tiger Basketball dominated in its first 2014 NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament game, routing Southern Polytechnic State University, 84-68.
The Lady Tigers went on a 38-11 run over a 16-minute span and dashed the hopes of the third upset in the current bracket.
"It was nice for a lot of kids to get in and get their feet wet," said coach Ginger Colvin. "You could tell there was a little nervousness from our team but once we settled down we did fine. But to get this first win and move on is what these tournaments are all about."
Katie Allen led the Lady Tigers on the offensive end, knocking down five 3-pointers, which is just one shy of her career-high. The senior led CU with 17 points. Allen also picked up six assists.
Ellen Sholtes was right behind, scoring 16 points and dishing out 6 assists, which tied a career high.
Lindsey Burd followed suit with her seventh double-double on the year, scoring 15 points and picking up a game-high 12 rebounds.
The duo of Burd and Sholtes scored the 18 of the first 24 points for the Lady Tigers before others got in on the act.
"Ellen is so quick right now and she is just really, really hard to guard," said Colvin. "Their coaches were screaming penetrator the whole game and she still got into the lane creating offense for herself and others. That gets the other team in foul trouble and makes a lot of things happen for our team."
"Burd was big in the early going on the boards and picked us up when we needed it. She has played great all year and that is what we expect out of her day-in and day-out."
Sholtes has shined in the previous 12 games, leading the Lady Tigers with a scoring average of 13.5 points. In the previous six games, the senior is averaging 16 points, all in which helped her to first team All-MSC honors.
Alexandria Prince led Southern Polytech and kept them in the game in the early going by scoring the first eight Lady Hornet points. But the Memphis, Tenn. native was held scoreless as the Lady Tiger defense locked down the junior throughout the rest of the first half.
The first 15 minutes was a knock-down, drag-out.
Burd used her patented spin move down in the post for all 10 of her first-half points, and Sholtes used her quickness and athleticism in the dribble drive to score 12 points in the first half.
Campbellsville and Southern Polytech were tied at 24 with 5:58 left and CU would go on a 18-7 run to finish the first half.
Hayley Hellyer missed a 15-foot jumper but was able to garner her own miss and Mary Jehlik drained her first 3-pointer from the right wing to extend the Lady Tiger lead to 34-28 with 2:07 left.
But the Lady Tigers weren't done from long range and Katie Allen knocked down two more triples, the last giving CU its largest lead of the first half, 42-31.
The basket seemed to get even bigger for the Lady Tigers in the first five-plus minutes of the second half. Campbellsville would extend its lead to 54-33 on 3-pointers by Allen and Caroline Owen.
"Anytime you can hit 3-pointers down the stretch and hit them in bunches it will give you momentum, and we jumped out to a big lead in a few minutes after halftime. Our confidence level is high and it showed on the floor tonight," said Colvin.
Campbellsville shot a blistering 47.9 percent (33-of-69) from the field and 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from behind the 3-point arc.
Southern Poly was not far behind CU from the floor, hitting 44.6 percent (25-of-59). But the Lady Hornets struggled from behind the arc shooting 35.7 percent (5-of-14).
The difference maker was the CU defense. The Lady Tigers caused havoc for the Lady Hornet. Campbellsville picked up 10 steals and forced 18 turnovers in their "twilight" extended zone.
It was the eighth time for CU to score 80-plus points in an NAIA Tournament game and the most points since an 88-44 win over Benedict in 2002.
The Lady Tigers will now play Xavier (La.), which knocked off the defending NAIA champion Westmont (Calif.) in the final game Wednesday. Game time for Friday's game will be approximately 2:15 p.m. ET at the Frankfort Civic Center in Frankfort, Ky.
In addition to our game releases, Lady Tiger travel companion Richard RoBards is writing a daily diary for a behind-the-scenes look at the NAIA DI WBB National Tournament. You can find the CU Tournament central page and diaries, HERE!
You can also follow Lady Tiger Basketball on Twitter - @LTB_CU and @CvilleTigers. Also on Facebook - Campbellsville Lady Tiger Basketball.
