BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The first-seeded Lady Tigers played in the 2023 Mid-South Conference Tournament quarterfinal Thursday night. Campbellsville faced Cumberland University, the ninth seed, and advanced in tournament play 60-59 behind rebound and assist advtantages and clutch Bailey Pedigo free throws.
Campbellsville's perimeter defense was unrelenting in the two teams' regular season match-ups. In their 11-point win back in November, the Lady Tigers forced the Phoenix into 17 turnovers and scored 22 points from them. It was a repeat in January in Campbellsville when Cumberland was allowed no points from the Lady Tigers' ten cough-ups while the home team took advantage of the other's mistakes and collected 17 points.
In the opening seconds of the first quarter, Kaitlynn Wilks scored the first bucket of the game. The Phoenix sank a basket that tied the scoreboard and, shortly after, Maddy Boyle put in two of her own. Lauren Lee made a layup and stood at the free-throw line, completing the and-one. Campbellsville's defense did not allow Cumberland's offense to score any further; Cumberland only added to the scoreboard again with less than three minutes on the clock. The Lady Tigers left the Phoenix trailing at the end of the first quarter, 17-10.
To begin the next period, Courtney Pritchett stood at the line scoring the first point of the second quarter. The Phoenix earned a couple of points from the free-throw line, but the Lady Tigers held fast to the lead. Pritchett nailed a three-point jumper, bringing the Lady Tigers nine points ahead of the Phoenix. Pedigo stood at the free-throw line going one for two. At the end of the half, the Lady Tigers remained in the lead, 32-36.
Going into the second half, Lee led the team with seven points, with Wilks and Pritchett right behind her with six points each. Campbellsville shot 50% from the field and went 5-9 at the free-throw line. Cumberland shot 41.4% from the field and went 2-2 at the free-throw line.
At the start of the third quarter, Lee stood at the free-throw line, going one for two and scoring the first point of the second half. Boyle scored a three-point jump shot that put the Lady Tigers ten points ahead of the Phoenix. As the third quarter went on, Pedigo and Wilks returned to the free-throw line, going one for two each. Sarah Sutton came off the bench with a jump shot, bringing Campbellsville's lead to 14 points ahead of Cumberland. The Lady Tigers went into the fourth ahead by nine points, 45-36.
As the fourth quarter began, the Phoenix's offense brought Cumberland only two points away from the Lady Tigers. Lee took to the free-throw line going one for one and then scored two baskets that pushed Campbellsville up in the scoreboard ahead of Cumberland by seven. The Phoenix went to the charity stripe, once again bringing Cumberland to a single possession away from the Lady Tigers. Shortly after, Pedigo got her opportunity to make some free throws and went two for two, widening the Phoenix's deficit to four. Cumberland came within two for a third time after converting at the free-throw line. Yet again, Pedigo took to the charity stripe and she hit both, extending Campbellsville's lead to four points. The Phoenix hit a three-point jump shot with only one second left on the clock, but couldn't do anything else with that little time. Closing the game to only a one-point deficit for the Phoenix, Campbellsville came away with the win 60-59.
By the end of the game, the Lady Tigers finished with 21-of-49 from the field (42.9%) and 2-of-13 from the three-point line (15.4%), while the Phoenix finished with 22-of-52 from the field (42.3%) and 6-of-14 from the three-point line (35%). Campbellsville had two players in double-digit points, with Lee with 15 points and Wilks with 13 points.
