BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – No. 5 Campbellsville (Ky.) University connected on 64 percent from the floor in the first half on Saturday against the Raven Women's Basketball team in the second game of the 2022 NAIA National Tournament Opening Round presented by Ballogy.
Benedictine was able to get their offense going in the third quarter, but they could never overcome the hot start by the Tigers as they fell 74-44.
Two storylines for the Ravens heading into the game were centered around their pair of senior post players – Aly Brzozowski and Natalie Smaron. Brzozowski entered the game needing 16 points to reach 1,000 career points while Smaron entered the game needing 6 rebounds to tie the Ravens all-time career record.
Smaron finished the game with 8 rebounds to move her career total to 893 to break the previous record held by former Raven Lexie Villegas. Villegas played from 2014-2018 and set the previous career mark at 891.
Campbellsville came into their match-up with Benedictine averaging just over 6 3-pointers per game. Through the first half, the Tigers connected on 6 of 7 while holding the Ravens scoreless from beyond the arc.
The Tigers were able to break the game open in the second quarter, outscoring the Ravens 26-8 to take a 41-16 lead into halftime.
The Ravens connected on 37.5 percent from beyond the arc in the third quarter as they connected on four 3-pointers in the half, matching the four of the Tigers.
Brzozowski finished with 10 points on 3 of 5 from the floor and 4 of 4 at the charity stripe and was matched as the Ravens leading scorer by Skylar Washington who scored her 10 points off 2 3-pointers and 4 of 5 at the charity stripe. The Ravens only missed one free throw, hitting 10 of 11. Aaliyah Raines scored 7 points while Smaron added 6 points to her team-high rebound total to round out the Ravens day.
Benedictine finished with a 25-23 advantage on the boards, pulling in 10 offensive rebounds that led to a 13-2 advantage in second-chance points. Campbellsville finished the game with a total of 10 3-pointers marking their sixth game in 34 games they connected on 10 or more this season.
The Ravens finish their season at 22-11 with their 12th overall NAIA Tournament appearance.
Campbellsville advances to the Round of 16 in Sioux City, Iowa, where they will take on Dordt University who knocked off No. 12 Sterling College in Park City, earlier in the day.
