VIENNA - When a pure shooter catches fire, watch out.
Laura Campbell knocked down 10 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 38 points as Ursuline College defeated Ohio Valley University, 82-64, in a non-conference game Tuesday night at the Snyder Activity Center.
Both teams were searching for their first win of the season. Ursuline, which has lost to a pair of schools ranked in the top 15 in Division II, improved to 1-6. OVU allowed its highest point total of the season while dropping to 0-5.
Article Photos
Ohio Valley University point guard Shelby Way, left, brings the ball downcourt while being defended by Ursuline’s Brianna Woods during a non-conference game Tuesday night at the Snyder Activity Center. Way scored 16 points as OVU dropped an 82-64 decision. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)
"This is huge for us," Ursuline first-year coach Shannon Sword said. "We have a mindset of changing the culture. We are no longer NAIA, so we have to be able to compete with the teams we will be facing."
Campbell, who ranks third among the program's all-time leading scorers, misfired on her first five attempts from the floor before closing out the contest by converting on 11-of-13, including 10-of-11 from beyond the arc.
OVU coach David Wadlington was unavailable for comment.
"I've definitely not seen Laura shoot like she did tonight," Sword said. "When she gets her feet set and finds the rim, that thing goes in most of the time. She got hot, and her teammates did a nice job finding her and making sure she got a lot of shots."
Behind four points in the paint from Jasmine Gibson, OVU built a 9-2 advantage six minutes into the first half. Ursuline misfired on all but one of its first 10 field goal attempts then began its surge when Campbell's first 3-pointer ignited an 11-3 run.
The Fighting Scots' last lead occurred with 8:19 remaining in the first half when Jessica Simpson assisted on a bucket by Amy Brooks to put OVU in front 15-13.
Campbell put Ursuline on her shoulders after the 5-foot-9 senior accounted for 16 of her team's final 21 points heading into the locker room as her ballclub enjoyed a 36-28 cushion.
The momentum stayed in Ursuline's favor at the start of the second half behind consecutive 3-pointers from Campbell and Brianna Woods. The margin reached 15 points at 47-32 as the Arrows were a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor out of the halftime break.
During one 15 1/2-minute juncture, Ursuline made 17-of-22 field goal attempts, including 10-of-11 from 3-point range.
OVU cut the deficit to 10 points on two occasions before falling behind by as many as 19 points at 73-54 with 4:34 left in regulation.
Katie Cappello, who returned to the lineup after missing two games with an illness, added 15 points and seven assists for Ursuline, while teammate Dee Erazo's double-double resulted in 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Gibson led OVU with 19 points to go with seven rebounds, while Way finished with 16 points.
OVU, which joins Ursuline as a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference next season, meets the Arrows a second time on Dec. 19 in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
"We knew OVU's game was getting the ball into their big girls on the block," Sword said. "I'm still not sure how to guard (Gibson at 6-3), but our girls did a nice job of executing our gameplan to kind of limit their touches on the block."
