LEBANON, Tenn. - The Lady Tigers travelled south today in a Mid-South Conference match up against the Phoenix of Cumberland University. The undefeated Lady Tigers, and 3
rd best team in the NAIA, went in and were able to dominate the second half to head out with an 11-point victory.
First quarter action started with the Lady Tigers and Phoenix trading buckets through the first five minutes with the Tigers only holding a slight advantage at 9-7. With two minutes to play in the quarter, the Phoenix were able to go up 16-15 as the back-and-forth continued between the two. However, CU at the end of the quarter, was able to push the advantage farther than any other lead of the game going up 22-18. Elizabeth Bertram led the way through the first with seven points and two rebounds.
The second quarter started with the Phoenix immediately taking advantage of two missed free throws getting a quick transition bucket. After a quick a foul and a free throw of their own, the game was back to even at 22. However, after a big Kaitlyn Wilks three-pointer and a quick bucket from
Courtney Pritchett, the Tigers pushed their lead to six going up 34-28. At the end of the half the two teams had very little space separating them, the Lady Tigers were only up by five, 39-34.
For the Lady Tigers through two quarters, Wilks and Bertram led the Lady Tigers with Wilks having 12 points and 4 boards while Bertram added 11 points and 2 boards. The Lady Tigers were 15 of 29 from the field (51.7%) and 3-6 from behind the arc (50%).
After the halftime break, Campbellsville came out fast and added to their advantage going up by 10 with a score of 48-38. The Tigers, as the third quarter continued, did not allow for Cumberland to close the gap. The closest the Phoenix would cut it back was back to six. Cumberland, at the end of the quarter, kept their deficit to seven with the Lady Tigers up 57-50 at the end of the 3
rd. Through three, Wilks led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points and even chalked up 7 rebounds.
Continuing into the fourth quarter, The Lady Tigers kept the distance consistently by a margin of 8-10 throughout the quarter. In the last two minutes, Campbellsville was able to keep putting Cumberland away stretching the score to a 12-point lead. The Tigers were able to finish the game out and remain undefeated with a score of 76-65.
Campbellsville had three players in double digit points with Elizabeth Bertram with 17 points, Wilks with 16 points (hauling in a team high seven boards), and Lauren Lee was the third player in double digits with 15 points. CU finished the game going 21-of-36 from the field (45.7%) and was 4-of-11 from the 3-point line (36.4%).
The Lady Tigers will next travel up Highway 55 as they take on conference rival Lindsey Wilson College right before the Thanksgiving break on November 22
nd. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET.
