BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Trailing 43-27 with 15:24 to play, Campbell rallied with an 18-3 run over the next eight and a half minutes to cut Liberty's lead to a single point before ultimately falling 64-57 on Saturday afternoon's Senior Day inside Gore Arena.
Saturday's game featured as the regular season finale for both teams ahead of next week's Big South Tournament in Conway, S.C.
Seniors Kiera Gaines, D Janelle Brown, Summer Leverette and Juli Osborne, as well as head manager Sabah Dickerson, were honored in a pregame ceremony for the Lady Camels (18-11, 13-7).
Redshirt junior RaeChaun Edwards led the Lady Camels with 15 points on the afternoon, while Karly Buer of the Flames (23-6, 19-1) led all scorers.
As a team, Campbell went 17-of-45 (37.8 percent) from the field and knocked down five of its 16 three-pointers (31.3 percent). From the charity stripe, the two sides shared the same 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) mark.
Liberty connected on 42.6 percent (20-of-47) of its shots and on half (6-of-12) of its shots from beyond the arc.
Neither side could gain a lead of more than three pointers over the opening seven and a half minutes, but Amanda Coffer's layup with 12:28 to play in the first half gave Campbell a bit of separation with a 13-8 lead.
The Flames responded, however, with five unanswered points to knot the game at 13-13, and grabbed an 18-17 lead at the 8:00 mark off a three-pointer by Mickayla Sanders.
The final eight minutes of the first half featured a pair of ties, with neither the Lady Camels nor the Flames leading by more than three points. Buer knocked down a three for the final points of the half at 2:16, and the Lady Camels entered the locker room trailing 28-27.
Starting with Buer's three-pointer to close the half, Liberty pieced together an 18-0 run spanning halftime to emerge with a 43-27 lead with 15:24 on the clock. Buer keyed the run with eight points, and Sadalia Ellis added four of her own for the Flames.
Despite falling into the 16-point hole, Campbell rallied back with an 18-3 run of its own to close within one point, 46-45, with 6:24 to play. Leverette tallied seven points during the burst, and Edwards tacked on six to spur the Lady Camels.
Liberty answered with a 9-2 spurt over the next three and a half minutes to put the game out of reach for the Lady Camels. Ellis again keyed the run with four straight points to give the Flames a 55-47 advantage with 2:57 to play.
Campbell cut the lead to five points three times down the stretch, but could get no closer than that.
The Lady Camels will await Saturday's results to find out their opponent in the Big South Tournament quarterfinals next Thursday in Conway, S.C. Campbell is guaranteed a spot in the top five, ensuring that it will bypass the opening day of games on Tuesday.
