CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The #1 Lady Tigers hosted the (RV) Stephens College Stars on Saturday. Campbellsville's team ball, more than doubling Stephens' assists and getting quality looks from unselfish play, brought them to victory, 89-62.
Both teams' defenses pressed the other from the opening minutes of the game. Whitney Hay, Kaitlynn Wilks, and Tyra Flowers all collected multiple defensive rebounds for Campbellsville, consistently ending Stars possessions. Although the Lady Tigers held the lead, the Stars did not fall too far behind, relying on their open three-pointers that propelled them forward on the scoreboard. At the end of the first ten minutes of play, the Lady Tigers held the advantage, 23-16.
The second quarter consisted of plenty of physical play and translated to more fouls, resulting in both teams sitting at the charity stripe. Campbellsville strongly benefited from the free-throws to widen their advantage over Stephens. Kayla Luebbe came off the bench racking up multiple layups for the Lady Tigers. Campbellsville remained with the lead at the end of the first half, 49-35.
At halftime, the Lady Tigers collected significantly more points in the paint (30 to 14), rebounds (18 to ten), and assists (16 to nine) than the Stars. Altogether, both teams kept very well-rounded rotations with their players, as Campbellsville collected 13 bench points compared to Stephens' 16.
Coming into the third quarter, both teams tried to keep arduous control over their side of the court, preventing each other from scoring on multiple occasions. Hay skillfully handled the ball down the court, assisting multiple Lady Tigers in several half-court buckets for Campbellsville. Courtney Pritchett scored two three-pointers for the Lady Tigers, increasing the Stars' deficit. As the game reached the last quarter of play, Campbellsville began to increase their margin over Stephens, 71-49.
Lauren Lee and Flowers continuously took advantage of Stephens' turnovers to flip possession for the Lady Tigers. Wilks landed her first three-pointer of the game, aided by Pritchett's fourth assist of the game. With only one minute left in the fourth quarter, Bree Gowdy scored her first three-pointer of the season. At the end of the contest, Campbellsville defeated the Stars by 27 points, 89-62.
Campbellsville's rebounds and assists helped them keep a hold on the lead for most of the game. Multiple Lady Tigers recorded season-highs in the game: Hay with 11 rebounds and Pritchett with five assists. Wilks paced the team with her 22 points on an efficient 8-13 shooting and Hay had the most assists in her start with seven.
The Lady Tigers will be back in action Saturday, December 9th hosting the Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
