CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — For the second straight game,
Emily Fox lit a flame to the nets with six 3-point baskets and led the sixth-ranked Lady Tigers with 21 points in a 76-57 win over No. 18 Bethel on Monday night.
The Lady Tigers (11-2) finished the Mid-South Conference/ Southern States Challenge with a perfect 3-0 record, while Bethel (6-6) went home with a 1-2 record.
Campbellsville hit 50 percent from the floor (30-of-60) and 43 percent (10-of-23) from deep tonight, compared to just 34 percent (20-of-58) from the field for the Wildcats.
Madison Stewart and
LeeAnn Grider also scored in double figures for Campbellsville with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Alexis Hardaway led Bethel with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Jasmine Whittemore has 11 points and Shamone Pearson had 10.
Bethel went to new transfer Brandi Goodman in the first quarter and it seemed to work. Goodman finished the opening frame with six of the 10 Wildcats points but the Lady Tigers shut her down in the second quarter and coach Chris Nelson did not play Goodman in the second half.
A big reason for the no-show in the second half was the Lady Tigers tempo. Campbellsville took advantage with Goodman and Madison Steppe on the bench for the Bethel Wildcats and put the throttle to the floor.
But with the Lady Tigers upping the tempo, CU also upped its pressure on defense – converting 15 turnovers and scoring 22 points off those miscues. Senior
Abby Miller set the tone in the first half by taking three charges that gave the Lady Tigers the spark they were needing.
With 6:40 left in the second quarter, Fox drilled a triple and was followed with another 3 by
Lexxus Graham to push the Lady Tigers lead to six, 23-17.
Bethel ended the final 3:23 without a basket and the Lady Tigers took advantage. Campbellsville would more then double-up the Wildcats with an 11-5 run after
LeeAnn Grider buried a 3 to put CU ahead 34-22 – the first double-figure lead at halftime.
Coming into the game, Campbellsville had out-scored opponents by 115 points in the second half and the Lady Tigers stayed true to that tonight. Grider scored four-straight points and CU opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run to take its first 20-point lead. Bethel would never recover.
Bethel did cut the lead to 14 points, 65-51, with 5:30 left but the Wildcats went frigid cold from the floor ended the night without a field goal in the final five-plus minutes. CU finished the game on an 11-6 run in the final 5:00.
Campbellsville is the lone Mid-South Conference team that finished the Challenge with a perfect record. No. 10 Shawnee State and No. 24 University of Pikeville went 2-1. The Southern States' Conference's Bethel and University of Mobile went 1-2, while Martin Methodist was 0-3 this weekend.
The Lady Tigers will now have nine days before hitting the hardwood again in Miami Gardens, Fla. CU travels to St. Thomas University to play three neutral games against Purdue University Calumet (Dec. 28), Thomas University (Dec. 29) and Johnson and Wales University (Dec. 30). The first two games – Dec. 28-29 – will be aired on the CU Sports Network, 88.7 The Tiger.
