STOVER, Mo. - Tipton coach Jason Culpepper won his 150th career game Thursday, as the top-seeded Lady Cardinals cruised to an 88-51 win against the Fayette Lady Falcons in the semifinals of the Class 2 District 14 Tournament.
Tipton built a 28-8 lead after one quarter, while Fayette won the scoring battle 21-14 in the second quarter to trail 42-29 at halftime.
The Lady Cardinals led 62-38 at the end of the third quarter and scored 26 points in the final eight minutes.
Abby Backes scored 30 points to lead the Lady Cardinals. Brooklynn Pace finished with 19 points and Kiley Bailey also reached double figures with 12 points.
Tipton (26-1), ranked No. 2 in Class 2, will get a rematch against second-seeded Cole Camp (23-3) at 3 p.m. Saturday in the championship game.
The Lady Bluebirds handed the Lady Cardinals their only loss of the season, 45-32, earlier this month in the title game of the Kaysinger Conference Tournament, but Tipton won their regular-season meeting 58-41 on Dec. 10 in Cole Camp.