LYNCHBURG, Va. – Campbell fell on Saturday afternoon at the Vines Center to Big South preseason-favorite Liberty 75-52. Liberty posted an 18-0 run early in the first half and closed the game on a 24-4 rally.
Following the matchup of two of the top three teams in the Big South Preseason Coaches' Poll, Liberty improved to 6-5 overall and 2-0 in the league, while Campbell dropped to 7-4 on the year and 2-1 in conference.
Campbell raced out of halftime quickly cutting the Lady Flames advantage to one, 46-47 at 14:18 remaining with a 19-6 rally. Junior guard Casey Elliott (Wilson, N.C.) nailed a three-point FG and freshman forward Amanda Coffer (Summerfield, N.C.) hit back-to-back jumpers from beyond the three-point arc to jumpstart the run.
The shooters for the Lady Camels though went cold as Liberty closed the game on a 24-4 run. All four points for Campbell came from the charity stripe.
Junior guard Kiera Gaines (Mechanicsville, Va.) registered a team-high 12 points and six rebounds for Campbell. A pair of nine-point performances were added by senior forward Roslyn Presley (Petersburg, Va.) and Coffer.
The Lady Camels held their own on the boards being out-rebounded, 47-37, by a much-taller Liberty squad and limiting second-chance opportunities, which Campbell held a 14-12 edge. Eleven different Campbell players tallied a rebound with Gaines leading the way with six.
Registering a career-high five assists and adding a pair of treys was Elliott. Four assists were tallied by junior guard D Janelle Brown (Oklahoma City, Okla.), who contributed four points.
Four Lady Flames registered double digits in the points – Mickayla Sanders(13), Ashley Rininger (12), Reagan Miller (11) and Catherine Kearney (11). Katelyn Adams pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
Liberty shot 42.2 pct. for the game, recording a 36-16 advantage on points in the paint. Eight three-point field goals by the Lady Flames kept the Campbell defense off balance.
After Gaines opened the game with the three-point field goal and tied it up with a put back, Liberty opened an 18-0 run as it made 9 of 13 shots from the field to start the game. The run created the largest lead of the game, 23-5, with 11:44 left.
A fresh line up with junior Summer Leverette (Turkey, N.C.), sophomore Jessica Pone (High Point, N.C.), Elliott, Coffer and Presley slowed down the pace and created quality opportunities.
Campbell used teamwork to cut the advantage to 10, 35-25 with just over two minutes left before Liberty took a 43-29 advantage into the break. The Lady Flames shot 45.7 pct. from the field and 41.7 from three-point territory, hitting five in the frame.
The Lady Camels made all eight of their free throws, but struggled to consistently find their stroke by going 9-of-32 in the frame.
Campbell concludes a three-game road trip on Monday with a 7 p.m. start at Longwood. The Lady Camels open the New Year on Jan. 4 at Gore Arena/John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center against rival High Point at 7 p.m.
