CONWAY, S.C. - Senior Kiera Gaines and freshman Summer Price combined for 26 points, but Campbell could not overcome a 16-2 Liberty run that spanned the halftime break in a 71-43 defeat in the 2015 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Tournament Semifinals on Saturday.
The Lady Camels finish the season with a 19-12 record, while Liberty (25-6) moves on to face the winner of Gardner-Webb and High Point in the championship game on Sunday afternoon.
Playing her final game as a Lady Camel, Gaines tied for the lead among all scorers with 16 points. Price joined her in double figures with 10 points, while sophomore Amanda Coffer finished with nine of her own.
For Liberty, Ashley Rininger finished with 16 points and was joined in double figures by Sadalia Ellis, Jaymee Fisher-Davis and Jasmine Gardner, who each finished with 10 points.
As a team, Campbell shot just 15-of-61 (24.6 percent) from the floor and knocked down four of its 15 (26.7 percent) three-pointers. The Flames posted a 42.6 field-goal percentage (23-of-54) and hit 22 of their 30 attempts (73.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
Neither side could gain more than a four-point advantage out of the gate as they traded baskets. Campbell grabbed an early 5-4 lead following a three-pointer by Gaines from the top of the circle, but Liberty regained the lead off a Rininger layup with 18:09 to play and eventually grabbed a six-point lead, 13-7, on another bucket by Rininger at 16:35.
After the Flames took an eight-point advantage at the 13:20 mark, back-to-back shots from beyond the arc by Gaines and Price cut the lead to 20-15; another quick jumper by Gaines just over one minute later brought the Lady Camels back within one possession.
Campbell used a 6-0 spurt over the next four minutes to regain a 23-22 lead with 5:53 left in the opening frame. A three-point play by Price keyed the run, and junior Jessica Pone's free throw put the Lady Camels back in front.
Liberty closed the opening half on a 12-2 run and held Campbell without a point over the final 3:13 to carry a 34-25 lead into the locker room.
Coffer ended a nearly seven-minute long scoring drought for the Lady Camels with a jumper at the 16:34 mark to cut the Flames' lead to 38-27, but Liberty responded with a 9-0 run just over two minutes later to take a 53-31 lead with 9:35 remaining.
The Lady Camels pulled within 17 after scoring five unanswered, but could not close the gap any further down the stretch.