Pikeville, Ky. – Shawnee State women's basketball won their fourth straight Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon, punching their ticket to Billings with an 81-79 win over (3) Campbellsville at the East Kentucky Expo Center.
The Bears and Tigers would play a tight game from the opening tip, with Campbellsville leading after one quarter. Jordan Doram picked up where she left off against Lindsey Wilson, opening the scoring for the Tigers, but Hannah Miller (JR/Coal Grove, Ohio) would hit right back with a three. Neither team could get much going offensively in the first half as the quarter ground into a defensive struggle. SSU would shoot 3-12 from the field. A pair of Lydia Poe (JR/Jackson, Ohio) free throws would cut Campbellsville's lead to 11-9 late in the period, but Caitlin Hall would hit a lay-up as time expired in the quarter to put CU up 13-9 after one.
Shawnee State would rally in the second quarter to take the lead. The Bears would begin the quarter on an 8-0 run, capped by a make in the post from Madison Ridout (SR/Jackson, Ohio) to take a 17-13 lead. Madison Stewart would hit on back-to-back possessions to tie the game back up, but a Bailey Cummins (SO/Brooksville, Kentucky) three would give SSU back the lead. Campbellsville would rally by the media timeout, with Hall's three putting the Tigers back up 26-25, but again Shawnee State would respond, this time through Ashton Lovely (JR/Jamestown, Ohio)'s three to re-take the lead. SSU would fend off Campbellsville for the rest of the half, and Ridout's bucket with 11 seconds to go would give Shawnee State a 37-31 lead at the half.
Campbellsville would cut into the Shawnee State lead in the third quarter. Cummins would hit a three early to extend SSU's lead to seven, and Lovely's three with 6:04 to go in the period would give SSU a 47-39 lead, but Campbellsville would rally. Trailing 51-44, Madison Faulkner would score two baskets to cut the lead to three. Savannah Gregory would split a pair of free throws to cut the lead to two. After a Ridout basket, Stewart would hit on the other end to again cut the lead to two. Ridout would again hit a shot late in the period, and her late basket in the paint put the Bears up 55-51 after three.
Shawnee State would assert themselves early in the fourth quarter. An early 9-3 run for the Bears would see them take a 64-54 lead, capped by a made shot by Cummins. However, Campbellsville would turn around to go on an 8-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 64-62, with Madison Clements' three capping the run. Ridout would hit a three-point play to make the lead five again, but Clements would hit another three to reduce the lead to two again. Shania Massie (JR/Greenfield, Ohio) would hit a lay-in on the other end, but again Campbellsville would rally, this time to take the lead. Clements would be fouled by Cummins on a three, and hit all three shots to reduce the lead to one. Hall would then hit a three of her own to give Campbellsville a 71-69 lead with 3:48 to go.
However, Shawnee State would respond. Lovely would immediately give SSU back the lead with a deep three to put the Bears up 72-71. Lovely would then be fouled two possessions later on a three point attempt, and hit all three shots to give the Bears a 75-71 lead. Lydia Poe would extend that lead out to five, splitting a pair of foul shots and giving SSU a 76-71 lead.
The game would take another turn after that as Campbellsville rallied again. Doram would hit in the post with 2:19 to go to cut the SSU lead to three, then again just 15 seconds later to reduce the lead to one. Miller would make a three to push SSU's lead back out to 79-75 with less than a minute to go, but Campbellsville would again rally. Doram would capitalize on a second chance opportunity to cut the lead to two, and with 12 seconds remaining Clements would tie the game at 79-79 with a lay-in.
However, just moments later Shawnee State would steal the game late. Doram would foul Hannah Miller with 0.4 seconds to go, putting the Mid-South Conference's best free throw shooter at the line. Miller would drain both foul shots, giving Shawnee State an 81-79 lead. After two timeouts, Campbellsville would throw the ensuing inbounds pass away, giving SSU the ball. The Bears would successfully inbound, and the buzzer would sound, as Shawnee State would clinch their fourth Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship in a row.
Madison Ridout and Bailey Cummins both had 18 points to lead the way for SSU. Hannah Miller added 14 and Ashton Lovely chipped in 12 for the Bears. SSU shot 54% for the game, and were 50% from three.
Madison Clements scored 22 points to lead all scorers for Campbellsville. Madison Faulkner had 16, Jordan Doram added 12 and Caitlin Hall had 10 for the Tigers.
The win improves Shawnee State to 30-3 on the season, ensuring the Bears win 30 games for the second season in a row. Campbellsville falls to 28-5. The Bears are now 3-0 against Campbellsville this season and lead the all-time series 17-13.
Sunday's win also has massive implications for Shawnee State on the national stage. The win clinches Shawnee State the Mid-South Conference's automatic bid to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Tournament, presented by Wells Fargo. SSU, who are currently ranked number one in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, will look to clinch the number one overall seed in the tournament, to be held in Billings, Montana.
Shawnee State will find out their NAIA Tournament destiny on Wednesday, March 7 when the NAIA broadcasts the 2018 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Selection Show. You can join the Bears at Buffalo Wild Wings for the selection show, which airs at 6:00pm Eastern.
