JACKSON, Tenn. - Freed-Hardeman's shooting touch returned and the Lady Lions used a strong second half to pick up a 84-61 win over No. 24 Loyola (La.) University on the final day of the 2008 Rotary Classic at Union University.
The win improves the No. 3 Lady Lions to 5-2 on the year.
FHU trailed by six, 30-24, with 5:54 left in the first half but closed it with a 14-5 run to take a 38-35 lead into halftime. The Lady Lions followed by scoring the first seven points of the second half, then used runs of 9-0 and 14-0 to build a comfortable 73-45 lead with 8:46 to play.
The win followed a pair of narrow losses against ranked teams for the injury-plagued Freed-Hardeman squad, which survived the three-day classic with three players - including last year's second-leader scorer Kristal Edney - unable to dress out.
Jana Cross led all scorers with 26 points and nine rebounds, while Tara Deatheridge added 17 points including four three-pointers. Whitney Johnson grabbed a career-high nine rebounds for FHU, which dominated the boards with a 44-25 advantage that included 19 offensive rebounds.
The Lady Lions head to Lebanon, Tenn., to take part in the Nationwide Classic where they will face Loyola again on Saturday, preceded by No. 21 University of the Cumberlands on Friday.
