CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Top-seeded Campbell faces second-seeded Longwood in the Big South Championship final Sunday at 8:30 from Bojangles' Coliseum. The championship game will be broadcast on ESPNU marking the first time Campbell has appeared on national television.
LAST TIME OUT
- Luana Serranho converted a 3-point play with 2.2 seconds left to lift Campbell over Gardner-Webb Saturday in the Big South Championship semifinal
- After Ki'Ari Cain put the third-seeded Runnin' Bulldogs ahead 50-48 with a pair of free throws with 10.2 seconds to play, Serranho drove down the right side of the lane and scored through contact. She swished the free throw for game-high 20th point of the night. GWU (16-15) had one final chance, but Alasia Smith lost the ball out of bounds
- Following a contest where neither team led by more than six points, Campbell is headed to its third-straight Big South final
- One night after scoring 20 points in CU's 59-56 quarterfinal OT win over Presbyterian, Serranho made 8-of-13 shots, grabbed six rebounds and dealt five assists. Faith Price added 11 points, while Taya Bolden had eight, plus a game-high 16 rebounds
A WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD
- Set a program-record for single season wins (24)
- Be the 772nd win in program history (771-578)
- Be head coach Ronny Fisher's 217th career win (216-203)
- Be Fisher's 120th win at Campbell (119-59)
- Be Fisher's 11th Big South tournament win (10-8)
- Be Campbell's 27th Big South tournament win overall (26-20)
- Be Campbell's second Big South Championship title (last- 1989)
- Be Campbell's second NCAA Tournament berth (last - 2000 [autobid after winning TAAC tourney]
SCOUTING THE LANCERS
- Defeated 7-seeded Hampton in the quarterfinal and 11-seeded UNC Asheville in the semifinal to reach its first Big South Championship title game in program history
- Have won a program-record 20 games and are winners of 13 of their last 14 games (last loss to Campbell, 58-45 on Feb. 5)
- One of the best offenses in the Big South. Led by guard Kyla McMakin, who ranks 5th in the country in shot attempts, averaging 18.1 points a game
- As a team the Lancers rank 14th in total blocks (151) and steals (321)
- Big South Player of the Year and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Akila Smith, averages 16.9 points and 3 blocks a game
- Led by fourth-year head coach Rebecca Tillett
SERIES HISTORY (Campbell leads 23-6)
- 30th all-time meeting, third in the Big South tournament
- Campbell have won 18 of last 20 matchups since 2013, are 10-2 against the Lancers under Coach Fisher and are 2-0 against Longwood in the Big South tournament
- This season Campbell have held the Lancers to season-low point totals after sweeping the regular-season series. The Camels won 69-41 Jan. 11 in Buies Creek as Faith Price scored a season-high 22 points, connecting on 5-of-9 threes. CU won in Farmville on Feb. 5, 58-45, behind 18 points from Serranho and a 13 point/15 rebound double-double from Bolden
- Last season Campbell split the regular season series with the Lancers, winning 55-54 in the first game but falling 54-52 after Kyla McMakin hit a buzzer-beating three in the second game. Campbell had revenge as both teams met in the Big South semifinal with the Camels pulling away with a 54-39 victory
STAT SHEET LEADERS
IN THE NATIONAL RANKS
- 6th in three-point FG% defense - 24.8%
- 7th in scoring defense - 52.4 ppg
- 27th in scoring margin - 12.8
- 32nd in assists per game - 15.8
- 47th in three-pointers per game - 7.6
- Bolden ranks 13th in the nation with 17 double-doubles and 26th averaging 10.4 boards
- Price ranks 17th making 2.8 threes per game and 24th shooting 41.3% from behind the arc
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL HISTORY
- Campbell makes its third-straight Big South Championship final appearance and ninth overall
- The Camels have won the Big South Championship title only once, defeating Radford to claim the title in 1989
- Campbell has finished as runner ups eight times and twice in the past two seasons (2019 and 2021-- 2020 tournament was not held due to COVID-19 pandemic)
- CU fell to Radford, 57-45, in the 2018-19 final and to High Point, 62-46, in last season's final
- Campbell last conference tournament title came in 2000 when it was a member of the Trans America Athletic Conference (now the Atlantic Sun Conference). The Camels earned its one and only NCAA Tournament berth following a win over Georgia State in the title game
BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT HISTORY
- Campbell is 23-16 in the conference tournament all-time, winning once under legendary head coach Wanda Watkins in 1989
- The Camels have made nine trips to the conference tournament finals and three times under head coach Ronny Fisher, including today's title game
- Last season (2021) Campbell defeated both Winthrop and Longwood before falling to High Point in the tournament final, 62-46
NATIONAL TV DEBUT
- Today's Big South Championship title game on ESPNU marks the first time Campbell has appeared on national television
20-20 VISION FOR SERRANHO
- Serranho has scored 20 points in both of Campbell's games in the Big South Championship
- The senior guard has five 20-point performances in her career with a team-high four of them coming this season
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
- Taya Bolden earned first team all-conference honors while Luana Serranho was named to the second team
- Bolden was also voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year, marking the second-straight season a Campbell player has earned the award
1K POINTS FOR TUELLE
- Shy Tuelle netted her 1,000 point with a last second three-pointer against Winthrop on Feb. 23
- Tuelle is the 20th Campbell player to break the 1K point barrier and the second to do so this season, joining Bolden
CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
- Bolden was named to the Academic All-District III team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)
- The program recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field or court and in the classroom
- Bolden, a criminal justice major, is the fourth player in program history to earn the distinction and first since 2011
BOLDEN SETS REBOUNDING RECORD
- Bolden became Campbell's all-time leading rebounder with her 1,114 board against Longwood on Feb. 5. She surpassed the previous record of 1,113 set by April Cromartie (1998-02)
- The redshirt-senior has the second-most boards in Big South history at 1,223
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
- Faith Price has been one of the best shooters from behind the arc in the Big South this season
- The junior guard has made at least one three-pointer in all but two games this season and has made 3 or more threes in 14 of 25 games she's played
- She averages a league-best 2.8 threes per game, ranking 16th nationally and is shooting 41.6% (64-of-154) from range ranking 22nd in the nation
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
- Taya Bolden is averaging a double-double behind 12.6 points and 10.4 boards per game
- Standing at just 5-10, Bolden ranks 13th nationally with 17 double-doubles this season
- Bolden became the first player in program history and second in the Big South to record over 1,200 points and rebounds after surpassing the rebounding mark against Presbyterian in the Big South Championship quarterfinal on March 3
DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE
- Campbell ranks 7th nationally in scoring defense holding foes to an average of 52.4 points per game
- The Camels rank 6th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense, forcing opponents to 24.8% shooting from behind the arc
- Campbell has held foes to under 40% shooting from the field in 19 of 29 games this season and has forced 15 or more turnovers in 21 games
TEAM EFFORT
- Campbell leads the Big South and rank 32nd in the country averaging 15.8 assists per game
- The Camels are 16-0 when three or more players reach double-figures
HEAD COACH RONNY FISHER
- Enters his sixth season with Campbell (118-59 / .668) and 14th overall (215-203 / .512)
- In five seasons under Fisher, Campbell has won 96 games -- an average of 19 per year
- Campbell won the 2019-20 Big South regular season title and finished as Big South tournament runner-up in 2019 and 2021
- He has also led the Camels to two postseason appearances in the WBI, claiming their first ever postseason victory in route to the tournament semifinals to mark the first time a Big South team has reached the title prelim game.
- Fisher leads all active coaches in the Big South with 215 wins overall and 134 in conference play
- Received contract extension through the 2025-26 season in summer of 2021
- Won his 100th game at Campbell on Dec. 1, 2021 against South Carolina State
- Won his 200th career game on Jan. 1, 2022 against Gardner-Webb
- Served as head coach at Presbyterian for eight seasons (2008-16)
