BROSELEY -- The Greenville defense dominated the first half and, with the exception of a few possessions, the entire game.
The Bears allowed Campbell to score six points in the first half and won 44-34 in the consolation quarterfinals at the Lady Royals Christmas Classic on Monday.
Campbell, the No. 15 seed, had two stretches in the first half where it went more than four minutes between baskets. During that time, the methodical No. 10 Greenville offense built a 20-6 lead at halftime.
"We were playing hard, I think we got to scoreboard watching. I think we got to thinking 'We've got this one in the bag' and obviously they didn't feel that way," Greenville coach Todd Porter said. "It just depends on which crew wants to show up, how they want to play, how long they want to play and how hard they want to play."
McKenzie Miller led Greenville (3-7) with nine points in the first half and 13 overall. She picked up her third foul a minute into the second half, when she had half of the team's points. Miller took a quick break before re-entering and eventually fouled out late in the fourth.
Greenville was up 18 points early in the second half, its biggest lead of the game, when Campbell's Claire Parker got hot.
"We weren't guarding. We were staying back. We were supposed to be out guarding. I think we looked up at the scoreboard and thought we were up by 17 or 18. Then they come down and she hit a couple," Porter said. "Things just go south when you don't play hard on defense."
Parker sank three 3-pointers in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the third quarter. She cut the lead to 10 points with a 3 that bounced high off the rim and then rattled in. Her final one with 13 seconds on the clock cut Greenville's lead to nine points, but Campbell (1-6) didn't get any closer in the fourth quarter. She finished with 17 points.
"I think then we decided we were going to start trying to play defense again. They threw one in off the backboard and (Parker) threw one in from about 3 feet behind there. I'm sure she doesn't make that a lot," Porter said.
The Camels were scoreless in the final frame until Parker scored through a foul with under 3 minutes left. She missed the free throw, but followed the play with a bucket to finish her scoring for the night.
Greenville pushed its lead back to 15 points when Anna Beth Vancil banked in one 3 and splashed another just before the final buzzer.
Campbell finished with 13 field goals, six of them from beyond the arc.
"Offense was not rolling in the first half. It is hard to win a game when you only score six points," Campbell coach Chelsea Bledsoe said. "Our rebounding was definitely better in the second half. We knew going into this game that that would be a crucial aspect, to have a strong inside game. They are strong and we are guard heavy. "
Vancil finished with 10 points, all in the second half.
Campbell scored 26 of its 34 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the third quarter and the final 3 minutes of the fourth quarter.
"We came out and played a little harder. Offense was much better than in the first half. They really got after it in the third quarter," Bledsoe said. "This group is coming along nicely. They are young, the offense is starting to come around. It is hard playing over Christmas break and Greenville is a good team."
Greenville will face No. 11 Charleston in the consolation bracket semifinal at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
KELLY 47, CLEARWATER 42
There were 10 ties and five lead changes before Kelly went ahead for good with under two minutes left and hung on to win.
Tied at 42, Kelly freshman Allision Owens, who left the game in the second quarter with a minor head injury, sank the Hawks' only 3 in the fourth quarter and her only field goal of the game to go ahead 45-52.
After a Kelly timeout, Clearwater forced a jump ball and a possession change, but missed a jumper. After Kelly (6-3) missed at the other end, the Tigers attempted a game-tying 3 with 35 seconds left, but bounced high and wide off the front of the rim.
Clearwater (3-5) quickly fouled, and got a pair of misses.
The Tigers tried for another 3 and missed, and Kelly's Marissa Worth came down with a big rebound and was fouled. The senior swished both free throws in the double bonus with 17 seconds left.
With time running out, Clearwater missed and drew a foul on the putback, but missed both free throws. With six seconds left, the Hawks read the man-to-man press defense and pulled off a full-court inbounds pass and held the ball as time expired.
Hailey Noon led Kelly with 14 points and Alaney Moore added 12.
Cheyanne Burton had 18 points for the Tigers and Halle Gooch got 11.
Charleston 77, Malden 37
Conner Watkins had another dominant game with 31 points for No. 11 Charleston in the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket. The 6-foot, 1-inch senior also had 31 points in a 70-43 loss in the first round to New Madrid Central. The second round of the winners' side of the bracket is still to play, but Watkins currently leads all scorers in the tournament with 62 points.
Ashanti Jones added 20 points for Charleston. Ally Hoehn led No. 14 Malden (3-6) with 11 points.
Portageville 56,
East Carter 38
The Bulldogs had balanced scoring with four players in double figures Monday night.
Shaymia Roston led No. 8 Portageville with 13 points after getting six in the first quarter. Zarria Taylor was a point behind her and led the Bulldogs in the second half with seven points. Then came Dasmine Johnson with 11 points, eight of which was in the first half, and Selinah Taylor added 10.
Portageville outscored No. 16 East Carter 14-3 in the second quarter to take a 17 point lead into halftime.
Audrey Carter led East Carter (2-7) with 11 points.