No. 2 Tigers pull away in final quarter, end RedStorm's tourney run

Rio Grande Sports Information
    SIOUX CITY, Iowa - For three quarters, the University of Rio Grande showed that it most definitely belonged in the NAIA Women's Basketball Championship Round of 16.
    But in the fourth quarter, Campbellsville University used the experience of being there before to pull away from their former fellow Mid-South Conference member.
    Maddy Boyle canned a three-point goal with 7:40 left to play, snapping a 68-all tie and kickstarting a 10-0 run which gave the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish in an eventual 96-87 triumph over the RedStorm, Monday night, at the Tyson Events Center.
    Campbellsville, the No.1 seed in the Duer Quadrant and the No.2-ranked team in the final regular season NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll, improved to 31-2 with the win and advanced to Wednesday's national quarterfinals to face Clarke (Iowa) University, which defeated Lewis-Clark State (ID) University in the final of Monday's four games.
    The Tigers, who were making their ninth appearance in the Round of 16 or later under 16th-year head coach Ginger Colvin, also won for the 14th time in 15 all-time meetings against Rio Grande.
    The RedStorm, the No. 4 seed in the Duer Quadrant, was making the school's first appearance in the Round of 16 and finished its season at 30-4.
    "All year long, we've owned the third and fourth quarters. We didn't own them tonight," said Rio Grande head coach David Smalley. "We gave up way too many threes tonight, plus they scored 24 points at the free throw line. We you have that kind of combination, you're going to have a hard time winning. Our kids played hard, but they've got a lot of kids who've been here before and I think it showed."
    Rio Grande turned a 7-0 deficit to begin the game into a nine-point lead after a jumper by senior Ella Skeens (Chillicothe, OH) made it 34-25 with 4:31 left in the first half.
    The RedStorm settled on a 40-39 advantage at the intermission before enduring the highs and lows of a roller coaster third quarter.
    Rio led by as many as four points and trailed by as many as five in the period before facing a 65-64 deficit entering the final stanza after Boyle hit a go-ahead jumper for the Tigers with four seconds left.
    The RedStorm grabbed what proved to be their final lead of the night, 66-65, after a jumper in the lane by sophomore Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) with 9:26 remaining and were still knotted at 68-all after a bucket by junior Aleea Crites (Parkersburg, WV) with 8:21 left before the trifecta by Boyle which turned the momentum in Campbellsville's favor for good.
    After the Tigers took their double-digit lead, Rio got no closer than five points - 82-77 after a rebound and stickback by junior Lexi Woods (Waverly, OH) with 2:28 remaining - the rest of the way.
    Campbellsville had just one more field goal the rest of the night - on its ensuing possession following the bucket by Woods - but extended its lead and secured the win by going 12-for-14 at the foul line over the final 1:35.
    The Tigers shot 54.4 percent overall (31-for-57), including a 10-for-20 showing from three-point range (50.0%), and were 24-for-32 at the free throw line (75.0%).
    Boyle led six double-digit scorers for Campbellsville with a game-high 20 points.
    Courtney Pritchett added 18 to go along with a team-best eight rebounds and six assists, while Lauren Lee had 13 points and a game-high 10 assists.
    Bailey Pedigo netted 13 points as well, with Elizabeth Bertram and Kayla Luebbe netting 12 points each off the bench. Pedigo also had three steals.
    Rio Grande had five players reach double figures.
    Skeens tallied a team-high 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals in her final appearance in a RedStorm uniform.
    Crites had 17 points and equaled Skeens for team honors with eight rebounds, while Darnell finished with 15 points - the final two of which came on a jumper with 7.1 seconds left - giving her an even 1,000 for her career.
    Sophomore guard Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) netted 14 points and also had five assists, while Woods tossed in 10 points in a losing cause.
    The RedStorm shot 48.5 percent overall (33-for-68), hit 79.2 percent of their free throw tries and enjoyed a 39-24 edge in rebounding, but went just 2-for-9 from three-point range and had 20 turnovers which directly produced 26 Campbellsville points.
    "My heart bleeds for these kids tonight because we really believed that we could check off another box on our list of goals," said Smalley. "We deserved to be here and we've got the caliber of team that could win it, but it wasn't meant to be tonight."
    "We expected to win tonight, but you can't win them all," Skeens said. "We left everything on the court, but (Campbellsville) was ready for us and defended us really well. We're not going to hang our heads, we just came up short."
    Skeens, who along with fellow seniors Courtney Pifher (New Washington, OH) and Mickale Bates (Pickerington, OH) put on a Rio uniform for the final time, offered her thanks for what the program provided her over the past two seasons.
    "I just told the team in the lockerroom that I really think this program saved my life in a lot of ways," she said. "I can't thank the coaches, my teammates, the fans - the total environment - for everything that Rio has given me. I'm going out on a good note."