Top-ranked Tigers overwhelm No. 7 Rio

Rio Grande Sports Information
     KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Regulation contests in collegiate women's basketball are comprised of four quarters.
     It took only two, though, to decide Friday night's NAIA Top 10 matchup between Campbellsville University and the University of Rio Grande.
     The top-ranked Tigers blitzed the No. 7-ranked RedStorm, 62-23, over the middle two periods and cruised to a 94-59 win as part of "The Show" at the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort and Convention Center.
     Campbellsville, which also eliminated Rio Grande in the Round of 16 at last season's NAIA National Tournament, improved to 5-0 with the victory.
     The Tigers also won for the 14th time in 15 all-time meetings with Rio.
     The RedStorm, who entered the contest averaging an NAIA-best 109 points per game, suffered their first loss in eight outings.
     Rio Grande started well, though, and led 21-20 at the end of the opening quarter, but crumbled over the course of the next 10 minutes and never recovered.
     The RedStorm went 4-for-22 from the floor (18.2%) in the second stanza, while Campbellsville was 11-for-18 overall (61.1%), 4-for-5 from three-point range (80%) and 8-for-9 from the foul line (88.9%) over the same period as the one-point lead transformed into a 20-point halftime deficit.
     Things got no better in third quarter. In fact, the situation grew worse.
     Campbellsville pushed its lead to 30 points, 72-42, after a pair of Courtney Pritchett free throws with 4:15 remaining in the period and then to 40 points, 82-42, when Whitney Hay capped a 14-0 run by connecting on two free throws with 29 seconds left in the quarter.
     Rio Grande got no closer than 34 points the rest of the night and the Tigers enjoyed their biggest lead of the contest with 2:13 remaining in the contest when a right wing jumper by Caylan Mills pushed the cushion to 41 points, 94-53.
     For the game, Campbellsville shot 51.5 percent overall (35-for-68), was 19-for-22 at the foul line (86.4%) and finished with a whopping 52-30 edge in rebounding.
     Fourteen different players saw action for the Tigers, with 10 scoring and five finishing in double figures.
     Hay and Lauren Lee netted 19 points apiece, Pritchett added 13 and the duo of Kaitlynn Wilks and Kayla Luebbe both tossed in 11.
     Tyra Flowers had a game-high 12 rebounds for Campbellsville, while Bailey Pedigo had six assists and Maddy Boyle had four steals.
     Rio Grande shot just 32 percent overall (21-for-65) and 25 percent from beyond the three-point arc (3-for-12).
     Junior Lexi Woods (Waverly, OH) led the RedStorm with 14 points and seven rebounds, while junior Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) had four assists and junior Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) had three steals.
     Rio Grande will wrap up its schedule in the showcase on Saturday night when it faces another Mid-South Conference unbeaten in 21st-ranked Georgetown (Ky.) College.
     Tipoff is again scheduled for 9:30 p.m. EDT.