March 20, 2017
For Immediate Release
BILLINGS, Mont. — For the second time in three years, Campbellsville women’s basketball is headed to the NAIA Fab Four. The three-seeded Lady Tigers will play two-seed Oklahoma City on Monday, March 20 for a chance to play in the NAIA National Championship game.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT at Rimrock Auto Arena at Metra Park. Fans can follow the action on the Campbellsville University Sports Network, 88.7 The Tiger, as Matt Payton will have the radio call starting at 7:45 ET.
It can also be heard at WLCUFM.com and on the TuneIn radio app. Check out Campbellsville Tigers on Facebook and also on Twitter, @CvilleTigers, for behind the scenes of GAMEDAY! Also, check out the hype video on those social media outlets and also at the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kpbfgn8iydya94w/FabFour_PumpUp_v2.mov?dl=0
Staff, faculty, students and fans are welcome to join the watch party in the Winters Dining Hall starting at 7:30 p.m. ET. Entrance into the cafeteria is free and finger foods will also be free sponsored by CU athletics and student activities.
In addition, the NAIA Network – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast the two semifinal games leading up to the championship final on ESPN3. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single day passes can be purchased for $9.95.
The Fab Four has a team from four different conferences – Mid-South Conference (Campbellsville), Sooner Athletic Conference (Oklahoma City), Golden States Athletic Conference (Vanguard) and the Frontier Conference (Lewis-Clark State).
Vanguard and Lewis-Clark State are scheduled to play 20 minutes after the complete of the first semifinal between CU and OCU.
There is no team remaining in the field from last year’s Fab Four.
Campbellsville (28-6) vs. Oklahoma City (32-2) Scouting Report:
If history looks to repeat itself, the Stars have the advantage with an 8-1 record against Campbellsville. In the NAIA Tournament, OCU has a 4-1 record with the last meeting coming in the 2015 championship game – a Stars 80-63 win.
The Fab Four appearance is the 14th all-time for OCU and just the second for the Lady Tigers.
The Lady Tigers have now qualified for 25 NAIA Tournaments – the most by any team surpassing former NAIA program Union University. CU is bringing in a 29-24 record to Monday. The Stars have appeared in 23 tournaments, won eight national championships and boast a 69-14 tournament record. The 69 wins is the most by any time in the history of the NAIA tournament.
Campbellsville is entering Monday night after upsetting No. 1 overall Freed-Hardeman, 73-70, on Saturday. The Lady Tigers are rallying on a three-game win streak through the tournament. The Stars enter Monday after winning 18-straight games, including upsetting Lindsey Wilson, 80-64, in the quarterfinal on Saturday.
Daniella Wallen is the x-factor for the Stars, averaging 24.4 points per game – ranking No. 1 in the NAIA. In addition, Wallen is one of the best defenders in the country as well, ranking first with 130 steals. Wallen has scored 20-plus points in 19-straight games. She is flanked by Daniela Galindo’s 17.9 points and 47.5 percent (86-of-181) from behind the 3-point line. The scoring output falls off after that – Brooke Irwin averages 9.8 points and the rest of the Stars score under six points a contest.
As a team, the Stars rank No. 1 with 636 assists, hitting 51.4 percent from the floor and 77.7 percent from the free throw line.
The Lady Tigers are led by Emily Fox‘s 14.9 points per game. She has buried 13 3s in her first three tournament games. She now has 249 made 3s in her career – ranking her No. 2 in Lady Tiger history.
Madison Stewart has been a force in the paint for CU. Her ability to spread the floor and beat defenders off the dribble has played crucial in the Lady Tigers success. Stewart has scored 17, 16 and 14 points, respectively in the first three tournament games and has dropped double-figures in 11 of the last 12.
Lexxus Graham came off the bench in the quarterfinal to drop 16 points on 4-of-4 shooting from deep and making all four free throws.
In the tournament the Lady Tigers have made 54-of-59 free throws (91.5 percent).
How the teams got here:
Campbellsville 84, Talladega 75
The Lady Tigers defeated Talladega College on Wednesday in the opening round, 84-75. Jordan Doram led CU with 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while lefty Madison Stewart was a force in the paint by matching a season-high 17 points. Emily Fox hit Campbellsville’s lone 3s of the day with four and finished with 15 points. Lauren Turner distributed the ball the best she has all year, dishing out a career-high 10 assists.
The Lady Tigers outshot Talladega by hitting 55.6 percent (31-of-56) from the floor compared to 45.7 percent (27-of-59) by the Tornados. CU also made 85 percent from the free throw line (18-of-21) compared to 57.8 percent for TC (11-of-19).
Campbellsville 73, Baker 56
Lady Tiger basketball hit 51 percent from the floor and held Baker University to 38 percent, downing the Wildcats, 73-56.
For the second straight game, Emily Fox got hot from deep and never cooled. She drilled five 3-point baskets – a total of nine in two games – and led CU with 19 points. Madison Stewart, Jordan Doram and Abby Miller all grabbed five boards a piece to lead CU, while Stewart pitched in 16 points – one off her number from Wednesday vs. Talladega.
Campbellsville held the Heart of American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Kelsey Larson, to only seven points on 1-of-4 shooting. She and Mackenzie Cook, the second leading scorer for the Wildcats combined for only 13 points and both fouled out in the final five minutes.
Campbellsville 73, Freed-Hardeman 70
The Lady Tigers received major contributions from their starting five and bench players Saturday in an upset win over previously undefeated and No. 1 Freed-Hardeman University, 73-70.
Senior Emily Fox led the Lady Tigers with 20 points and hit four 3-point baskets. The four 3s pushes her tournament total to 13 – the most for any player thus far through the first three rounds. Lexxus Graham was the x-factor, though. Graham, a junior from Winchester, Ky., came off the bench and sparked CU with defense and the long ball. She scored 16 points – making four 3s and drilling all four free throws. The biggest of them all came with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter and the shot clock buzzer sounding, to put CU up 65-57.
Madison Clements added the ninth 3, as he Lady Tigers knocked down 9-of-16 (56%) from deep. In addition, Madison Stewart has been a force for the Lady Tigers using her quickness to take forwards off the dribble. She pitched in 14 points and also made all four free throws.
Overall the biggest stat – the Lady Tigers hit all 18 charity stripe attempts.
Oklahoma City 73, MidAmerica Nazarene 63
Daniela Wallen fueled the Stars with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, while Daniela Galindo added 17 points. Galindo tallied 11 points, and Wallen had nine of her points in the fourth quarter as OCU erased a one-point deficit entering the final period.
With 8:04 left, Whitney Moia tied the game 53-53 with a jumper for MidAmerica Nazarene. OCU recorded the game’s next six points. Wallen hit free throws, then Galindo added a bucket in the paint. Brooke Irwin scored to put the Stars ahead 59-53 at the 6:04 mark.
Oklahoma City shot 38.8 percent from the field to shoot below 40 percent for the third time this season. The Stars knocked in 8 of 14 shots from the floor in the fourth
Oklahoma City 81, Montana Western 79
Daniela Galindo’s jumper before time expired lifted Oklahoma City University to an 81-79 win over Montana Western on Friday. On the game winner, Galindo fired in a 15-footer from the baseline after evading a Montana Western defender guarding a potential 3-point shot. The Stars set up a play from the sideline with 7.4 seconds left.
The Stars shot 57.6 percent in the game and 63.6 percent in the second half from the field.
Oklahoma City 80, Lindsey Wilson 64
Daniela Galindo and Daniela Wallen each amassed 22 points for OCU in a 80-64 win over the Blue Raiders. The Stars nailed 8 of 13 from 3-point range Saturday. The 20-plus point game is the 19th-consecutive for Wallen.
OCU held fourth-ranked Lindsey Wilson to 37.5 percent shooting from the field. Lindsey Wilson entered the game fourth in the NAIA in scoring per game, but scored 17 points below its average per game (81.4) through Friday’s games.