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LEBANON, Tenn. – The No. 8 seed Bluefield College women's basketball team hung tight with No. 1 seed Campbellsville throughout the afternoon, Friday, but the Lady Tigers closed down the stretch to claim the 63-54 victory and advance in the Mid-South Conference Women's Basketball Championships presented by GoJohnnyGo 5K/10K Run/Walk at the Dallas Floyd Recreation Center in Lebanon, Tenn.
 
A pair of free throws from Asia Wheeler pulled the Lady Rams (14-15) within three, 43-40, with 13 minutes left to go, but after a couple of empty possessions from both teams, the Lady Tigers' (28-3) Mary Jehlik knocked down a straightaway three to up CU's lead to six.
 
The No. 4-ranked Lady Tigers' lead rose to nine before a Janee Simmons layup and Wheeler free throw cut the deficit back to six with 7:31 on the clock, but that would be the closest BC could pull within for the remainder of the afternoon as CU took the nine-point win.
 
Wheeler led BC with a game-high 16 points, and Simmons tossed in 10 points while playing just 15 minutes due to foul trouble. Guard Alexis Grant grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for Bluefield, followed by six from Wheeler as BC held the 41-38 margin on the glass.
 
Campbellsville's active defensive zone once again bothered the Lady Rams—as it had done in the two matchups on the regular season—helping force 28 BC turnovers. The Lady Tigers took advantage of the BC giveaways, turning them into 26 points. While Campbellsville committed 19 turnovers of its own, Bluefield only managed eight points off those giveaways.
 
Campbellsville used a balanced scoring attack, as Lindsey Burd's 10 points led the way. However, five additional Lady Tigers tallied at least seven points in the victory. Burd also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to complete the double-double.
  Bluefield outshot Campbellsville for the game, 40% (21-for-53) to 35% (18-for-51), but the Lady Tigers took two times as many free throws than BC. CU was 24-for-36 (66.7%) at the line to BC's 11-for-18 (61.1%).
 
While Bluefield started the game very efficiently on the offensive end—making six of its first 11 attempts—Campbellsville set the tone for their scoring by getting to the free throw line.
 
The teams went back and forth in the early going, with all five ties and nine lead changes taking place in the first 10 minutes of the contest.
 
The 13-13 tie with 11:42 remaining in the opening half would be the last tie of the ballgame, as Caroline Owen hit a three to give CU a 16-13 lead. Despite BC's efforts to retake the lead, CU would not relinquish its advantage the remainder of the day.
 
An ensuing 9-0 run from the Lady Tigers broke the lead open to 10 points, 27-17 with 6:32 left in the first half.
 
BC steadily climbed back and pulled within three, 29-26, thanks to a 9-2 run of its own, which took place over a span of about three minutes. Wheeler put in three points in the rally, while Alexis Grant, Maryah Mazyck and Megan Tennant chipped in two apiece. Tennant helped the Lady Rams' offensive efforts in the first half, tallying six points as Simmons committed three fouls in less than three minutes to open the game.
 
CU took its lead back to seven points, but a Destiny Tolliver layin with time winding down set the score at 34-29, CU, at the break.
 
After Campbellsville opened with a bucket from Katie Allen, a layup from Grant and a three for Teqa McNeal—the senior's only points on the evening—trimmed the lead back to two points, 36-34, 2:30 into the second half.
 
Wheeler cut the deficit to just one on two occasions, the last coming with 14:44 remaining in the game.
 
However, BC's next field goal came at the 8:38 mark—a drought of 6:06—during which time Campbellsville had gone on a 6-0 run, including Jehlik's three with 11:08 to go.
 
The Lady Tigers continued to hit their free throws down the stretch and took the 63-54 to advance to Saturday's semifinal action in the MSC Championships.
 
Bluefield's final chance at postseason success comes next week, as the team treks to Jackson, Tenn., for the National Christian College Athletic Association's (NCCAA) Mid-East Regional Tournament, hosted by Union University.
 
The Lady Rams are slated to take on Union, Friday evening at 7 p.m. (ET). For more information, visit Union's tournament webpage here.