JACKSON, Tenn. – Oklahoma City University scraped out an 86-77 overtime triumph over Campbellsville (Ky.) on Saturday at Oman Arena in the NAIA Division I women's basketball quarterfinals.
The No. 1-seeded Stars (32-3) overcame Whitney Ballinger's 48-point performance to advance to a national semifinal contest against top-ranked Union (Tenn.) at 6 p.m. Monday at Oman Arena.
Sixth-ranked OCU seized the lead for good in the extra period and erased a 75-70 deficit by using a 9-0 run. Holly Hardin knocked in a pair of free throws, then a putback to spark the Stars surge.
Laura Duncan drilled a 3-pointer from the wing to provide OCU a 77-75 edge with 1:21 left. Chontaye Walter added a 15-foot jumper to make it 79-75 at the 45-second mark.
Courtney Danis hit a layup with 21 seconds remaining for Campbellsville, but Ballinger turned the ball over and committed an offensive foul for her fifth foul down the stretch. Walter sank 3-of-4 free throws to seal the victory for OCU.
The Stars notched their 26th consecutive victory. Fifth-ranked Campbellsville ended its season 33-3.
“It was another gutsy effort,” OCU coach Rob Edmisson said. “Our kids are so tough in overtime and close games. Our coaching staff demands so much out of them daily. It's tough love as we put it. It allows them to be successful in tough games.
“Chontaye got the ball in the middle of the floor and took over the last part of the game. We put in something we hadn't shown all game.”
Starr Fairbanks, a junior from Cincinnati, totaled 17 points and eight rebounds as one of four OCU double-digit scorers. Hardin, a senior from Chickasha, Okla., chipped in 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Duncan, a senior from Edmond, Okla., recorded 14 points, nailing four 3-pointers, and Walter, a senior from Oklahoma City, had 14 points, four rebounds and six assists. Donica Cosby added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Ballinger, a junior from Carrollton, Ky., connected on 18 of 29 shots from the field and 12 of 19 free throws. She added 18 rebounds, seven blocked shots, four steals and three assists. Ballinger, the WBCA NAIA player of the year, equalled the fourth-best scoring performance in the 30-year history of the NAIA Division I Tournament.
Miriam Walker-Samuels of Claflin (S.C.) had four of the top five scoring games in the tournament ever. Samuels' 62 against Dilliard (La.) in the 1988 tournament stands as the best scoring tournament game ever.
“I'm convinced that she is the best player in the country after that,” Edmisson said. “She's a great player. She's 6-3 and plays like a guard. They were trying to beat us with her. We told our kids to not get down, she'll have 40 or 50 points, but we'll have more at the end of the game.”
To force overtime, Cosby drove into the lane for a lay-in to tie the game 70-70 with two seconds remaining in regulation. Cosby's 3-pointer put OCU ahead 54-43 with 12:36 left in the second half. Wendi Messer answered with back-to-back treys, then Ballinger added a bucket to keep Campbellsville in the contest.
Ballinger bulled her way to a basket to put Campbellsville up 60-59 at the 6:25 mark. Ballinger added free throws to stretch her team's advantage to 62-59.
OCU erased a 67-64 deficit and took a 68-67 edge on Fairbanks' free throws with 1:35 left. Campbellsville led 69-68 on Ballinger's free throws with 24 seconds remaining. Mackenzie Lee hit a free throw with nine seconds left to set up Cosby's tying shot.
Cosby rebounded Lee's missed free-throw attempt and took the ball coast to coast.
“We hit some big shots, and they hit some big 3s,” Edmisson said. “We didn't play well offensively for a while, but we found our mojo at the right time. The strength of our team is our balance. This team proves it. No one player needs to dominate for us. It makes it hard to guard us.
“It's that time in the tournament where every team we run into will be just as tough as we are. We'll get ready to play another nationally-ranked team Monday.”
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