Campbellsville and Cumberlands women’s basketball reach NAIA quarterfinals

A pair of Kentucky schools will face off for a spot in the NAIA women’s basketball tournament’s Elite Eight on Saturday.

Campbellsville and Cumberlands both won in the quarterfinals Friday night. Meanwhile, in the men’s NAIA tournament, the state of Kentucky’s last hope fell when Cumberlands was eliminated in the Elite Eight.

Back to the women’s tournament, 1 seed Campbellsville (31-1) advanced with a 73-61 win over 5-seeded Menlo (California) in Sioux City, Iowa.

Mid-South Conference Player of the Year Kaitlynn Wilks had a team-high 17 points, and Lauren Lee and Kayla Luebbe added 16 apiece.

The Tigers forced 21 turnovers and outrebounded the Oaks 41-31.

Cumberlands (25-9), a 3 seed, is up next for Campbellsville after the Patriots’ come-from-behind 87-80 win against 7-seeded Dakota Wesleyan (South Dakota) on Friday.

The Patriots rallied from nine down in the second half to earn the program’s second national quarterfinals spot, with the other one coming in 2009.

Destiny Haworth led the way with 21 points, and Kassie Monday added 18 points to go along with nine assists.

Saturday is the fourth time this season that Campbellsville and Cumberlands have squared off. The Tigers won 88-70 in Williamsburg on Jan. 21, 101-68 at home on Feb. 8, and 74-64 in Bowling Green in the Mid-South Tournament finals on March 4.

▪ The Cumberlands men’s team’s run in the NAIA Tournament ended Friday with an 80-74 loss to Morningside (Iowa) in the Elite Eight in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Patriots (28-5) had their worst 3-point shooting performance of the season, going 4-for-25 (16%).

Anthony Johnson scored 22 points off the bench to lead Cumberlands. Harry Morrice, another reserve, contributed a season-high 18 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocked shots.