BILLINGS, Mont. – The No. 8-seeded Argos battled tough with the No. 1-seed Campbellsville University on Thursday, but the Tigers found the edge in overtime to defeat the Argos, 89-84.
Four Argos scored in double-digits with
Emilee Maldonado leading the way with 23 points.
Parker Esary netted 17 points, while
Tristan Murphy and
Kenedy Cartwright notched 13 and 11 points, respectively. Murphy tallied a double-double in the contest, pulling down 10 boards, in addition to three assists and a steal. Esary narrowly missed her 16
th double-double of the season with nine boards, but filled the stat sheet with two assists, a blocked shot, and a steal.
Campbellsville's Jordan Doram set a new career-high as she netted 40 points in the contest. Madison Kaiser and Savannah Gregory also netted double-digit scoring with 16 and 12, respectively.
The Tigers would net the first field goal of the contest to take a 3-0 lead, but the Argos immediately responded with eight-straight points to lead by five, 8-3. The Tigers would then go on a 9-0 run of their own to retake the lead, 12-8. The Argos would tie things at 14, 17, and 20, before a 4-0 Tiger run would put things at 24-20 at the close of the period.
The Tigers opened the second period on an 8-3 run to push the lead to nine, 32-23. The Tigers would maintain an eight-point lead at the 4:33-minute mark of the period, 36-28. The Argos would then score six-straight points to cut the deficit to two, 36-34. The Tigers would close the period on a 6-3 run to push their lead back to five at the break, 42-37.
A 12-2 Argo run opened the third period to put the Argos back on top with less than five minutes left in the third, 49-44. The Tigers would score six unanswered to take a one-point leave, but both squads would trade field goals to a 52-52 Campbellsville lead. The Tigers would notch a 7-2 run to head into the final period with a five-point lead, 59-54.
The Tigers would maintain a six-point lead through the first four minutes of the final period, 67-61, however the Argos would net a pair of field goals and a free throw to cut the lead down to one with 4:30 to play, 67-66. A 5-0 Campbellsville run would put the lead back at six, 72-66, but a 9-3 Providence run, capped off by two Maldonado free throws and a missed Tiger shot sent things into overtime tied at 75.
The Argos remained within three through the first two minutes of overtime, 80-77, but net five-straight points to take an eight-point lead, 85-77. One more run from Providence would cut it back to three with 30 seconds to play, 86-83, but it wasn't enough as the Tigers would tally three more points to close the contest, 89-83.
The Argos finish the season with a record of 18-14.
