BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The #2 seeded Lady Tigers played in the semi-final game of the Mid-South Conference tournament on Saturday. They faced the #3 seeded University of Cumberlands and where a strong second half pushed Campbellsville to the MSC Championship game, 85-71.
The Patriots started with a full-court press against the Lady Tigers, but they broke it and Ashley McGeorge got the first basket. Cumberlands started the game hot and were up on the Lady Tigers 10-4 in the first three minutes of the game. McGeorge had all of the first six points for Campbellsville. The Lady Tigers then went on a 6-0 run to tie up the game at 10 points each.
Courtney Pritchett hit the first three-point basket for CU. The first quarter wrapped up with UC shooting 50% from three where they had made three of six and led the Lady Tigers 23-17.
The first basket of the second quarter came from
Lexy Lake assisted by McGeorge. The Patriots went up eight points on Campbellsville halfway through the second quarter. The Lady Tigers then battled back to close in on their lead.
Sarah Sutton hit a huge three, Campbellsville's second of the game, and brought CU within three points. In the final minutes of the first half,
Bailey Pedigo made a big-time layup and Lee took a charge which gave the ball back to CU. Lee drove to the basket at the buzzer and got fouled. She made both free throws which tied the game at 36 going into halftime.
At the half, McGeorge led Campbellsville with 10 points and eight rebounds. Lee was leading in assist with four. The Lady Tigers had eight second chance points compared to UC's zero. However, Campbellsville struggled with free throws in the first half only shooting 46.2%.
In the third quarter, the Lady Tigers only scored nine points in first six minutes and trailed by five. Sutton hit another big three and brought Campbellsville within two. McGeorge earned her double-double by the third quarter and finished the quarter with 22 points. The Lady Tigers wrapped up the third quarter with a few more baskets and regained the lead, 58-54.
The fourth quarter started with a made layup from the Patriots but Pedigo answered with a layup of her own. In the first five minutes of the quarter, the Lady Tigers went on a 11-4 run and had an eight-point lead. The energy in the gym was electric as Campbellsville took off with the advantage in the final five minutes of the game. The Lady Tigers finished the game strong, vastly improving their free throw percentage, and won by 14 points, 85-71.
The Lady Tigers made it a point at the half to convert their free throws to finish the game shooting them at 74.2%. Campbellsville earned two more second chance points and the Patriots remained at zero through the game. The Lady Tigers were led in scoring by McGeorge with 22 points and 13 rebounds; she won Player of the Game for the second time in the tournament. McGeorge was followed by Pritchett with 13 points and Lee and Pedigo with 11 each.
The Lady Tigers will be back in action playing in the Mid-South Tournament championship game. They will face Georgetown and the game will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET.
