McKENZIE, Tenn. — Sixth-ranked Campbellsville women's basketball gets its 2017-18 season underway this week with a trio of games in the Second Annual Mid-South Conference/Southern States Athletic Conference Challenge.
 
The Lady Tigers will open Challenge play on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET with Blue Mountain State College. CU will also play Martin Methodist on Friday at 4 p.m. ET and Saturday vs. No. 11 Bethel University at 7 p.m. ET in Crisp Arena.
 
The first two games will be broadcast online via the Campbellsville University Sports Network audio portal starting at 3:45 p.m. ET - www.campbellsvilletigers.com/watch. The final game of The Challenge will not be aired due to conflicts with Fighting Tiger football playing for a MSC regular season title Saturday.
 
After reaching their second NAIA Fab Four in the past three seasons, Campbellsville University has its sights on yet another run at the first NAIA Championship in school history. The Lady Tigers have usually started the year in McKenzie, Tenn. at the Chamber Classic but this year The Challenge was moved to the first week of the schedule.

The second-annual MSC/SSAC Challenge features four teams which are ranked in the
Top 22 of the NAIA Coaches' Poll. Shawnee State enters with the highest ranking at No.
5. Campbellsville is right behind at No. 6 and Bethel is No. 11. Bethel is the lone team from the SSAC in The Challenge that is ranked. Cumberland University rounds out the ranked teams at No. 22. Martin Methodist College is just outside the poll by receiving 41 voting points.

Last year, Campbellsville was the lone team to win all three games in the first-annual Challenge. The Lady Tigers defeated Mobile (65-49), Martin Methodist (82- 43) and No. 18 Bethel (76-57).
 
Second Fab Four in History
Coach Ginger Colvin, who is 17 wins away from reaching milestone win No. 300 in her career, has led Campbellsville to a pair of NAIA Fab Four appearances. The most recent in 2016-17 when the Lady Tigers pulled two upsets in the NAIA Tournament - 73-56 over two-seed Baker University in the second round and 73-70 over No. 1-overall seed Freed-Hardeman. CU fell to eventual national champion Oklahoma City in the semifinal, 87-78. The National Tournament appearance was also the 25th in program history - breaking the NAIA record.
 
Slew of Returners are Back
CU returns 10 players overall, three starters and two of arguably the best players in the Mid-South Conference in Madison Clements and Madison Stewart. Clements averaged 12.3 points per game last season and after returning from injury midway through the year, Stewart finished her sophomore campaign by scoring in double- figures in 12 of the last 13 games. In addition, sharp-shooter Lexxus Graham and point guard Lauren Turner return for their senior campaigns. Graham sparked CU in last year's quarterfinal game vs. No. 1 Freed-Hardeman with four 3-pointers and Turner dished out a career-high 10 assists in the opening round contest vs. Talladega.
 
The youth movement is also an exciting time, as CU signed a trio of forwards - Sammy Rogers, Ashlee McGeorge and transfer Alexus Calhoun - to give Stewart and Jordan Doram help in the paint.
 
Newcomers to Make Big Impact
Lady Tiger basketball signed four newcomers for the 2017-18 season. The loan addition at the guard spot is 5-foot-2 point guard Shyla Calbert. Calbert prepped at Nelson County High where she scored 16 points per game, dished out three assists and averaged 3.5 steals per game. In the paint, CU went to Coach Colvin's home- town to sign Ashlee McGeorge from Monroe County High School. McGeorge helped lead the Monroe Co. Lady Falcons to a 20-6 campaign her junior year where she averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds per game. During her senior year, McGeorge scored 11 points and grabbed 11 boards a game. She was also a 70 percent free throw shooter. She is also the all-time leading rebounder at Monroe County. The final freshman signee comes from Lawrenceburg, Ky. with Sammy Rogers. She scored over 1,000 points in her career and averaged 14 points, 6.5 rebounds, two assists and four steals for the Lady Bearcats during her senior campaign. In addition, she led the softball program to three region championships in four years, also named All-District and All-Region. The lone transfer for CU is Alexus Calhoun. She transferred to CU from Union University where she was a redshirt last year. Before her time at Union, Calhoun played at Berea College. In her freshman sea- son at Berea, she averaged 11 points and nine rebounds per game.