BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Shy Tuelle scored 13 second half points, scoring 16 total, to lead Campbell women's hoops to a Big South opening win over Presbyterian, 51-46, on Saturday afternoon inside Gore Arena.
Tuelle shot 5-of-7 from the floor (4-of-5 from three) and went 2-of-2 at the free-throw line, reaching double-figures for the third consecutive game.
Campbell moved to 9-3 overall and 1-0 in Big South play, while Presbyterian fell to 2-10 and 0-1 in conference action.
Ashlyn Hampton joined Tuelle in double-figures, adding 12 points (10 coming in the second quarter). Lauren Carter scored seven and pulled down six boards, while Taya Bolden led Campbell in rebounding for the ninth time this season, totaling seven rebounds.
Led by Bolden's three blocks, the Camels sent back seven of the Blue Hose's shots. Hampton also added two blocks.
The Camels held Presbyterian's leading scorer Kacie Hall (14.5 ppg) to a 4-for-18 shooting effort. She was the lone Blue Hose to reach double-figures, scoring 16.
The Camels outrebounded PC 51-46 and moved to 9-0 when they outrebound their opponent this season. Campbell also held the advantage in points in the paint (22-16), bench points (21-2) and second-chance points (7-6).
Campbell went up 5-0 early, but Presbyterian closed out the first quarter on a 13-3 run to go into the first break with a 13-8 advantage. Campbell shot just 18 percent (2-for-11) from the floor but went 3-of-4 at the free-throw line; PC shot 27 percent (3-for-11) and was a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe.
Led by Hampton's 10 second quarter points and 4-for-4 shooting effort, the Camels posted a 63 percent shooting percentage, improving their output from the first quarter by 45 percent.
After both sides traded baskets on their first possessions of the second quarter, Tuelle's three at the 8:40 mark sparked a 10-0 Campbell spurt, putting the Camels up six at the media timeout, 23-17. Campbell went into the half with a 28-19 advantage.
In the third quarter, Presbyterian tied the score at 32-32 at 3:20 via a 9-0 run; however, another Tuelle three pointer sparked Campbell's second 10-0 run. Tuelle scored all 10 during the run, sinking two more three's, going 2-of-2 at the free-throw line and scoring a fast break lay-up. The Camels went up by 10 twice, eventually heading into the final period with a seven-point lead, 44-37.
Presbyterian pulled to within three (49-46) with 2:52 remaining, but a lay-in by Luana Serranho with six seconds to go resulted in the 51-46 final decision in favor of the Fighting Camels.
Up next, Campbell will play three Big South games next week, welcoming Gardner-Webb to Gore Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 8 for a 7 p.m. tip-off, and then traveling to Charleston Southern (Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.) and UNC Asheville (Jan. 12 at 2 p.m.).
