BLUEFIELD, Va. – The Bluefield College women's basketball team held No. 5 Campbellsville University nearly 40 points below its season average, but the Lady Tigers were able to close late to take the non-conference matchup, 52-46, at the Dome Gymnasium on Friday evening.
 
Bluefield drops to 4-6 on the season, while former Mid-South Conference opponent Campbellsville remains unbeaten at 9-0.
 
Maryah Mazyck was the only Lady Ram to tally double-digits, recording 10 points on the night. Destiny Tolliver added six points, but pulled down a career-high tying 18 rebounds to help BC take the 42-36 edge on the boards for the game--the first time CU has been outrebounded this season.
 
Campbellsville's Caroline Owen recorded a game high of 13 points, while Kristen Jacob chipped in 10 points and also had six rebounds in the victory. Lindsey Burd grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds.
 
The visitors grabbed a quick 10-0 lead in less than three minutes of action, and pushed the early advantage to 23-8 with 11:56 remaining in the first half. The Lady Tigers were 7-for-11 from the field in the opening run, including a 4-for-6 performance from beyond-the-arc.
 
Bluefield found its offensive rhythm though, and reeled off a 15-5 run to cut the deficit to five, 28-23 with 2:29 remaining in the opening half. The squad hit 4-of-8 attempts from the floor, while going a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point land. An even attack sparked the run, with Valerie Lebedeva leading the way with a pair of threes. Shelby Key added another trey, while Jade McDaniel, Mazyck and Sharonda Tate each added two points.
 
A three from CU's Lexxus Graham and another hoop from Lebedeva brought the tally to 31-25, Lady Tigers, at the break.
 
Campbellsville began the second half with nine-straight points before BC got on the board, and used a 14-2 run overall to gain its largest lead of the evening, 45-27 with 14:31 to play.
 
BC found another positive stretch over the next 10 minutes of action, as the resilient Lady Rams answered back with a 15-0 run to pull within three, 45-42 with 3:54 remaining in the game. Bluefield knocked down 6-of-13 shot attempts and added three at the line, all while CU went 0-for-14 from the floor. A Mazyck free throw began the rally, in which Sharonda Tate tossed in six, Tolliver four, Mazyck three and Key two more.
 
Madison Clements broke the 11-plus minute scoreless stretch for the Lady Tigers with a big three from the left elbow, while a LeeAnn Grider jumper pushed the lead back up to eight for the visitors, 50-42, with under three minutes to play.
 
Whitney Smith connected on a trifecta with 1:44 to play, but Campbellsville used a pair of offensive rebounds to wind down the time. Smith then claimed a steal and was fouled, but could not knock down the front-end of the 1-and-1.
 
A Campbellsville turnover gave BC another chance, where Mazyck knocked down 1-of-2 free throw attempts to make the deficit four, with 26 ticks left.
 
Owen hit 2-of-4 free throw attempts down the stretch, while BC could not add to its total, as the visitors claimed the 52-46 win.
 
The Lady Tigers turned 24 BC turnovers—which included 13 steals from CU—into 19 points, while BC exchanged 15 Campbellsville turnovers for 13 points.
 
Bluefield shot 35.4% (17-for-48) from the floor, compared to 30.5% (18-for-59) for Campbellsville. While CU knocked down 5-of-12 treys in the first half, they hit just 2-for-10 over the final 20 minutes. BC was 4-for-10 on the night from downtown.
 
Bluefield gets back into Appalachian Athletic Conference action on Monday, traveling to face Reinhardt University. They tip off the women's-men's doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. in Waleska, Ga.