SIOUX CITY, Iowa. – The second-seeded Campbellsville University Lady Tigers battled the top-seeded Marian University Knights in the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday night at the Tyson Events Center. Campbellsville struggled to keep up with Marian's efficient pace and was unable to take the lead, falling out of the tournament with a 73-43 defeat to close a remarkable season.
- Whitney Hay led Campbellsville offensively, scoring a team-high 15 points to go along with three rebounds and two steals.
- Abby Gilbert and Tyra Flowers battled in the paint against a taller Marian frontcourt, pulling down five rebounds each to lead the Lady Tigers on the glass.
- Dea Bradley remained active in the passing lanes, swiping a team-high three steals.
- The Lady Tigers conclude their season with a 24-8 overall record, having reached the NAIA National Tournament Quarterfinals for another deep postseason run.
- Historically, Campbellsville has only advanced past the Quarterfinals into the Fab Four twice, achieving the prestigious feat in 2015 and 2017.
The Knights came into the game with strong offensive pressure early, securing offensive rebounds on their initial possession but missing their first two shot attempts. Following a Campbellsville turnover, Marian's Kiley McNally secured a steal and scored the first bucket of the game. The Lady Tigers struggled to maintain control of the ball against Marian's length, resulting in the Knights racking up a 7-0 lead before Campbellsville was able to score. After a foul call on Campbellsville, Marian collected two more points at the free-throw line.
Whitney Hay scored the Lady Tigers' first points of the night from the charity stripe, and subsequently converted Campbellsville's first field goal off an assist from
Kinsley Molden. Although the Lady Tigers mounted an offensive surge late in the period, the Knights finished the first quarter with a 10-point advantage, 20-10.
Coming into the second quarter, Campbellsville did not see a field goal until the 6:11 mark, as their first four points of the period came exclusively from the free-throw line. Marian's Abbey McNally and Olivia Faust worked together to extend their upper hand, pushing the lead to 32-18 halfway through the period.
Paige Serafini came off the bench and drained a three-pointer to provide a spark, but the Knights quickly retaliated with a three of their own. With under ten seconds left in the first half, Marian scored another jumper to push Campbellsville further back in their deficit, taking a 39-24 lead at the break.
In the opening minute of the third quarter, both teams exchanged jumpers, with
Lainey Johnson connecting to open the half for the Lady Tigers. The game then saw a brief scoring halt for a couple of minutes, which was ultimately broken by
Tyra Flowers with a crucial jump shot. Marian, however, refused to let the Lady Tigers capitalize on any offensive surge, constantly responding to one-up them and counteract their efforts to steal the momentum. Going into the final quarter, Campbellsville trailed the Knights by 16 points, 52-36.
In the first half of the fourth quarter, Marian put the game out of reach by taking off on a decisive 13-point run. Serafini and Flowers scored the first points of the period for the Lady Tigers, but with three minutes left in the contest, the Knights had built a 30-point upper hand. Campbellsville attempted to jump back into the fight, but their shooting came up too short against the tournament's top seed, falling to Marian 73-43 to close out an otherwise stellar season.
