Thu, Nov 13, 2008 - [Women's Basketball]
HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions got a scare from visiting Belhaven (Miss.) College on Thursday night, but hit key free throws in the final minutes to pull out a 76-66 win.
FHU, ranked No. 3 in the NAIA, improves to 3-0 on the season while Belhaven suffered its first loss of the year, falling to 3-1.
For the first 12 minutes of play, the game looked as if it was going to be a relatively easy win for the Lady Lions. FHU led 25-10 with 10:00 left in the half, then extended the lead to 32-12 with eight minutes to play.
That's when the game changed entirely.
Belhaven utilized a full-court press that sparked an 18-4 run to pull within six points just before halftime. FHU took a 38-30 lead into the locker room and systemically extended the lead to 12 points at 56-44 with 12:21 left in the game.
But already short-handed due to injuries, the Lady Lions were dealing with foul trouble that caused them to play a bit more cautiously on the defensive end. Belhaven took full advantage by slashing to the basket, going on a 13-2 run and getting an opportunity to tie the game after Kimberly Ward was fouled while making a lay-up with 7:51 remaining. She missed the free throw and though the Lady Blazers stayed close the rest of the way, they would not get that close again.
Freed-Hardeman sealed the win by making nine of 10 from the foul line in the final 4:00 of the game, including six in a row in the last 1:30. Jana Cross led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field. Her nine rebounds also put her over 500 for her career, making her the 15th player in Lady Lion history to do so. Tara Deatheridge, who scored 11 of FHU's first 17 points, added 22 in the win. Jaelyn Stringer led Belhaven with 22 points.
FHU returns to action on Saturday at 1:00 PM as they host Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) University during homecoming weekend.
