Box Score HENDERSON, Tenn. - After an impressive 4-0 start that includes two wins over top 25 teams, the No. 6 Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions gear up for their annual early-season tests at the Rotary Classic in Jackson, Tenn.

This marks the seventh year that Freed-Hardeman has participated in the classic. The Lady Lions have a 10-7 record all-time in the event that normally features anywhere from four to six preseason top 25 teams.

This year's field isn't as strong on paper, with only one of the incoming schools appearing in the top 25: Biola (Calif.) University, which came in at No. 25 in the NAIA's preseason coaches poll. The other two schools - Westminster (Utah) and The Master's (Calif.) were in the receiving votes category.

The local teams are all in the preseason top 10, with No. 1 Union (Tenn.) and No. 9 Lambuth (Tenn.) completing the field as usual.

However, just because the incoming teams aren't ranked as high as is traditional for the Rotary, that doesn't mean they are not going to present challenges for the local programs.

FHU opens on Thursday at 7:00 against The Master's, a team that is just four seasons removed from a trip to the Fab Four and a perennial national tournament participant. This season, they are off to a 2-0 start and are averaging 103 points per game. Additionally, Freed-Hardeman is 0-3 all-time against the Mustangs.

On Friday, the Lady Lions take on Biola at 9:00 PM. The Lady Eagles advanced to the NAIA Sweet 16 last season following a first-round upset of ninth-ranked Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) University. Their first game of the 2009-10 season will come against Union on the first day of the classic. FHU and Biola have met one time in the history of the programs, with Freed-Hardeman taking an 80-64 win in the 2004 NAIA National Tournament.

The Lady Lions finish the classic by taking on Westminster at 5:00 PM on Saturday. The Griffins are coming off a Sweet 16 appearance in last season's national tournament and enter the Rotary with a 3-2 record. Both their losses have come against ranked teams.

Freed-Hardeman enters with four players averaging in double figures, led by three-time NAIA All-American Jana Cross with 15.3 points per game. Meribeth Boehler, who operates beside Cross in the post, averages 14.5 points per game and leads the team in shooting with a .634 field goal percentage. Senior guard Tara Deatheridge is at 11.3 points per game, and freshman Maria Bagwell has come off the bench to average 10.5 points per game.

The trio of Cross, Boehler and Bagwell has helped FHU to a plus-10 rebound margin through four games with an average of 23.0 rebounds per game among them.

This marks the seventh year that Freed-Hardeman has participated in the classic. The Lady Lions have a 10-6 record all-time in the event that normally features anywhere from four to six preseason top 25 teams.

This year's field isn't as strong on paper, with only one of the incoming schools appearing in the top 25: Biola (Calif.) University, which came in at No. 25 in the NAIA's preseason coaches poll. The other two schools - Westminster (Utah) and The Master's (Calif.) were in the receiving votes category.

The local teams are all in the preseason top 10, with No. 1 Union (Tenn.) and No. 9 Lambuth (Tenn.) completing the field as usual.

However, just because the incoming teams aren't ranked as high as is traditional for the Rotary, that doesn't mean they are not going to present challenges for the local programs.

FHU opens on Thursday at 7:00 against The Master's, a team that is just four seasons removed from a trip to the Fab Four and a perennial national tournament participant. This season, they are off to a 2-0 start and are averaging 103 points per game. Additionally, Freed-Hardeman is 0-3 all-time against the Mustangs.

On Friday, the Lady Lions take on Biola at 9:00 PM. The Lady Eagles advanced to the NAIA Sweet 16 last season following a first-round upset of ninth-ranked Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) University. Their first game of the 2009-10 season will come against Union on the first day of the classic. FHU and Biola have met one time in the history of the programs, with Freed-Hardeman taking an 80-64 win in the 2004 NAIA National Tournament.

The Lady Lions finish the classic by taking on Westminster at 5:00 PM on Saturday. The Griffins are coming off a Sweet 16 appearance in last season's national tournament and enter the Rotary with a 3-2 record. Both their losses have come against ranked teams.

Freed-Hardeman enters with four players averaging in double figures, led by three-time NAIA All-American Jana Cross with 15.3 points per game. Meribeth Boehler, who operates beside Cross in the post, averages 14.5 points per game and leads the team in shooting with a .634 field goal percentage. Senior guard Tara Deatheridge is at 11.3 points per game, and freshman Maria Bagwell has come off the bench to average 10.5 points per game.

The trio of Cross, Boehler and Bagwell has helped FHU to a plus-10 rebound margin through four games with an average of 23.0 rebounds per game among them.

FHU'S YEAR-BY-YEAR ROTARY CLASSIC RESULTS
2008: lost to #13 St. Xavier (55-54), lost to #6 Azusa Pacific (78-71), def. #24 Loyola (84-61)
2007: lost to #19 Master's (80-73), def. #2 Vanguard (85-83), def. #3 Lee (72-65)
2006: def. #16 Oklahoma Baptist (73-62), lost to #1 Vanguard (85-72), def. #18 Georgetown (64-56)
2005: lost to #5 Master's (71-68), def. #9 Southern Nazarene (64-45), def. #3 Oklahoma Christian (62-51)
2004: lost to #2 Vanguard (71-68), def. #3 Oklahoma City (70-69), def. USAO (78-61)
2003: def. #5 Oklahoma Baptist (60-57), lost to #2 Southern Nazarene (62-54)