CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.- The #1 Lady Tigers hosted the #16 Governors State University Jaguars in the first round of the NAIA Championship on Friday. Campbellsville took the victory over Governors State, 80-57.
The Jaguars were first on the scoreboard with a jumper in the game's opening seconds. Kaitlynn Wilks avidly rebounded and quickly retaliated with a layup. Elizabeth Bertram and Bailey Pedigo scored back-to-back threes, putting the Lady Tigers at the advantage halfway through the quarter. Tyra Flowers came off the bench with agile steals, returning the ball to Campbellsville's control. Whitney Hay and Kayla Luebbe struck Governors State with fierce buckets, widening the Lady Tigers' advantage to ten points over the Jaguars. Campbellsville led the game at the end of the first 10 minutes of play, 23-14.
Maddy Nalley began the second quarter with a layup aided by Maddy Boyle's first assist of the game. As the quarter continued to unfold, the Lady Tigers strongly capitalized off Governors State's fouls to rack up a few points from the charity stripe. Campbellsville's defense prevented the Jaguars from successfully making it down the court, strengthening the gap on the scoreboard. At the end of the first half, the Lady Tigers remained in the lead, 38-26.
At the half, Campbellsville surpassed Governors State in multiple statistical categories, most significantly: rebounds (21-10) and bench points (21-8). Despite losing control over the advantage in the opening of the game, the Lady Tigers led the game for 84.2% of the time.
The third quarter began with both teams standing at the free-throw line. The Jaguars scored a jumper, while the Lady Tigers were yet to score any baskets in the second half. However, halfway through the quarter, Boyle came into the game with back-to-back buckets, bringing Campbellsville's scoring drought to an end. Both teams kept returning the charity stripe, benefitting from each other's fouls while only being able to score a handful of baskets. Courtney Pritchett's first assist of the match brought Lauren Lee to connect with a layup with two minutes left on the clock. Going into the last quarter, Governors State continued to trail the Lady Tigers, 59-43.
Wilks kicked off the final quarter with back-to-back layups, propelling Campbellsville forward on the advantage. The Lady Tigers' rebounds continued to prove too vital for the Jaguars, unable to catch up as Campbellsville widened their upper hand to 20 points over Governors State. With four fouled-out players during the fourth quarter, the tension on the court only increased as the last minute of the game approached. The Lady Tigers took the victory over the Jaguars, 80-57.
Campbellsville significantly outperformed Governors State in multiple statistical categories of the game, more than tripling them in offensive rebounds (14-4), more than doubling in bench points (35-15), and switching a higher scoring accuracy from short-range with their points in the paint (32-24).
The Lady Tigers will be back in action tomorrow, Saturday, March 16th, battling the William Carey University Crusaders in the second round of the NAIA Championship beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.
