CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — A 13-day break seemed to take its toll on the Campbellsville Lady Tigers basketball team this afternoon. The No. 5 team in the nation opened the 2015 year with a hard-fought victory over No. 15 MidAmerica Nazarene University, 62-51.

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CU saw a 13-point lead be diminished midway in the first half but was able to regain the lead after a LeeAnn Grider runner as time expired in the first half. The Lady Tigers would never trail again, but MidAmerica Nazarene put up a good fight until 50 seconds remained.

"This was a huge win for us," said CU Lady Tiger head coach Ginger Colvin. "They come in ranked No. 15 but I think they are a lot better than that. Three of their four losses have come against Top 6 opponents. This is a team who is going to be good down the stretch and tough in the national tournament."

It was a tale of two sides for the Lady Tigers in the first half. The first 10 minutes of the opening half saw Campbellsville take a 15-2 lead. CU used its size and scored 12 of the first 15 points in the paint.

Their patented twilight zone defense also played a major role in the first 10 minutes, as the Lady Tigers forced nine turnovers. MidAmerica Nazarene came into the game averaging 18 turnovers a game and finished the first half with 12. The Lady Tigers forced 21 overall.

In the previous four games, the Lady Tigers have forced 77 turnovers and CU came into the game holding opponents to 52 points a game (No. 3 in the NAIA) and held the Pioneers to just under that mark.

"Defensively we played really well in Las Vegas and we continued that today," said Colvin. "Their forwards and guards really compliment each other on the offensive end and hit a patch where they made us pay for over-aggressive play. But overall our defense has improved and we use that to get our offense going.... It worked today."

MNU went without a field goal from 17:55 to 9:29 left in the half and Campbellsville led 15-4 at the 10:18 mark. The only points for the Pioneers during that CU run was two free throws by Tristin Wicks.

Back on the offensive end, the Lady Tigers started to settle for jumpers and went away from its inside-out gameplan that worked so well in the early going. CU finished the first half shooting 1-for-12 (7 percent) from behind the 3-point line.

It was an ugly shooting game overall, as both teams hit a combined 3-of-26 3-pointers. Campbellsville finished 1-of-14 (7 percent) and MidAmerica Nazarene finished 2-of-12 (17 percent).

The Pioneers started to chip away while the Lady Tigers went frigid cold. MidAmerica Nazarene went on a 20-6 run to eventually take its first lead at 22-21 with 50 seconds left in the first half.

Free throws aided the first half come back for MNU with the Pioneers hitting all nine of their freebies compared to 0-for-2 for Campbellsville.

MNU finished the final 11:50 on a 22-8 run.

But Grider's runner with time running out sparked CU at the end of the half, giving the Lady Tigers the 25-24 lead.

Campbellsville's second half started with two jumpers by Grider and two free throws by Caroline Owen were sandwiched in-between.

The Lady Tigers went on a 16-8 run, capped by a Lindsey Burd up-and-under layup to take a 41-32 lead with 9:51 remaining. Burd and Chelsea Craig both finished with 16 points – the 16 for Craig tied her career high. Burd also finished with a game-high seven rebounds and Craig finished with five.

"Chelsea Craig was a monster for us," said Colvin. "Heck I look down the stat sheet and I see Burd had 16 as well. Their play was crucial for our success today. Chelsea and Burd both matched their intensity today but I am really happy to get this game over with because they gave us fits all day."

MidAmerica Nazarene was able to go on a 4-0 run after consecutive buckets by Martyna Kudziela to cut the CU lead to five, 41-36, but that was as close as the Pioneers would get.

MNU led the free throw shooting in the first half but the Lady Tigers hit 9-of-10 down the stretch to seal their second NAIA Top 25 victory in the last three games.

Campbellsville finished hitting 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) from the charity stripe and the Pioneers finished hitting 17-of-18 (94.4 percent). Their only miss came at the two-minute mark in the game.

The Lady Tigers will now take another lengthy break between games. CU will wait 10 days before hosting Fisk University Monday, Jan. 12. Tip off is scheduled at 6 p.m. EST.

"Taking a big break in between games is really tough," said Colvin. "Especially with classes out of session all the girls do is practice and sit around in the dorm. We try to keep them busy as possible but there is only so much we can do as a team. We haven't practiced well the last few days and I think that is the main reason."

You can follow the game live on 88.7 The Tiger and also live video – HERE. You can also follow the Lady Tigers on Twitter - @CvilleTigers and @LTB_CU.