HONOLULU, Hawaii - Tara Deatheridge achieved a career milestone and the No. 6 Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions used a huge second-half run to pick up an 86-73 victory over William Carey (Miss.) University on Sunday night at the Hoop-n-Surf Classic.
Deatheridge led all scorers with 20 points and scored her 1000th career point with 12:48 to play in the first half on her second of six 3-pointers as FHU improved to 12-1 on the season.
For much of the game, though, the Crusaders (3-6) hung with FHU thanks in large part to hot shooting.
William Carey opened the contest by making nine of its first 11 shots and held the lead until the Lady Lions took control in the form of a 13-0 run over the last 3:30 of first half to take a 41-33 lead into the break.
WCU, though, came right back in the first few minutes of the second half, outscoring FHU 14-5 over a four-minute stretch to take a one point lead. The Crusaders extended their lead to three (54-51) with 13:15 to play.
A little more than three minutes later, the Lady Lions were on top by 14.
Hannah Parsley and Natalie Shumpert combined for 14 points in an 18-1 run that helped Freed-Hardeman build a cushion that William Carey would not be able to overcome. FHU expanded its lead to 22 points with 4:01 left before the Crusaders made a late push to trim the final margin to 86-73.
Parsley and Meribeth Boehler each had 19 points for FHU while Natalie Shumpert added 16. Deatheridge, Parsley, and Shumpert combined to make 12 3-pointers as WCU's defense placed most of its attention on Jana Cross, who was held to nine points. Deatheridge also had a team-high six assists.
Freed-Hardeman returns to action on Jan. 7 as the Lady Lions open conference play against Blue Mountain (Miss.) College at 6:00 PM at the FHU Sports Center. The game will be televised on WLJT out of Martin, Tenn.
