CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.- The #4 Campbellsville Lady Tigers squared off against the #14 Bethel Lady Wildcats for the second time this season in a crucial Mid-South Conference match-up in the Powell Athletic Center on Thursday. The Lady Tigers picked up an 80-62 win in convincing fashion.
Both teams came up empty on their first two possessions of the game, with Bethel scoring a two on the third possession, but Paige Serafini answered right back with a quick three to get the Lady Tigers on the board. Tyra Flowers got on the board next with a layup after a nice pass from Whitney Hay, giving Campbellsville the lead. The Lady Tigers were active on the defensive end as Lauren Lee got an easy steal, leading to a Talynne Shearer layup for her first points. Serafini got her second triple on a wide-open look that extended the lead to four. Hallie Allen got in on the defensive act when she got a steal late in the first quarter, followed by a layup and ballooning the Lady Tiger advantage to 11 early. A combined 45 percent shooting from the field and three forced turnovers helped Campbellsville end the first quarter with a 21-13 lead.
The Lady Tigers started the second quarter hot from the field, getting two quick buckets by Shearer and Hay to push the lead to 14. The Lady Wildcats scored on the following four possessions to cut the Campbellsville lead back to six. After the first two buckets, the Lady Tigers missed their next six shots, but Lee stopped the drought with a mid-range jumper that turned into an and-one opportunity. The following two possessions, with the shot clock running down, Lee hit a tough contested fade-away mid-range jumper to beat the buzzer, and Hay hit a 15-footer with a hand in her face to put Campbellsville up ten. Hay picked up another steal and layup the following possession to increase the lead to 12. On the last possession of the quarter, Serafini cashed out for her third three of the half to give the Lady Tigers a 39-25 cushion.
Defense remained strong for Campbellsville as Lee and Flowers picked up steals, leading to two Serafini threes. In the first four minutes of the third, the Lady Tigers swiped four steals, making the total ten early in the second half. Both teams shot the ball well after the halftime break, with the Lady Tigers and Lady Wildcats shooting over 50 percent from the field in the first five minutes of play. After the first media timeout, Dea Bradley got on the board with her first triple as she extended the Campbellsville advantage to 18 over Bethel. Bradley got in the paint and finished with a tough layup and a step-back three on back-to-back possessions. Campbellsville ended the quarter with a free throw line jumper from Hay to take the Lady Tigers into the fourth with a 66-41 lead.
Bethel started the fourth quarter with a three on their second possession, but Campbellsville answered with Shearer's layup. Bradley continued her three-point clip from the field as she drained her third from beyond the arc as the Lady Tigers ballooned their lead to 27. The Lady Wildcats got the lead back down to 20, but Serafini answered with her sixth three of the game, followed by an acrobatic layup to extend the lead to 22. Campbellsville shut the door on Bethel early, getting an 80-62 victory, picking up another top-25 win and their eighth conference win.
The Lady Tigers will be back in action on Saturday, February 15th, to take on #11 Georgetown in Georgetown, Kentucky. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. ET.
• Serafini racked up six three-pointers tonight, the most three-pointers made in a game this season and in her career. Tonight's 20-point game is also a career high.
• The Lady Tigers had four players in double figures: Serafini (20), Bradley (15), Hay (14), and Lee (12).
• After tonight's game, the Lady Tigers collected their 20th victory against Bethel, their sixth consecutive win since 2022; Campbellsville has only ever lost three games against Bethel.
