LEBANON, Tenn. - The No. 6 Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions built a 23 point second half lead, then held off a furious rally to open TranSouth Conference play with a 59-53 win over Cumberland (Tenn.) University on Saturday afternoon.

FHU (13-1, 1-0), which took a nine-point lead into halftime, scored the first 13 points of the second half and later expanded the lead to 49-26 on a Tara Deatheridge 3-pointer with 10:16 to play.

But Cumberland (6-5, 0-2) broke out of a cold shooting spell and turned up the defensive pressure, going on a torrid run over the game's last seven minutes to turn a comfortable FHU lead into a hard-earned win.

Freed-Hardeman turned the ball over six times in the last nine minutes of play and made just 4-of-13 shots during that span. The Lady Lions also struggled from the free throw line, despite coming into the game ranking fifth in the nation from the stripe at 78.0 percent as a team. FHU was just 3-for-11 in the game and 2-for-7 in the game's final nine minutes.

Cumberland, meanwhile, helped its cause by making 11 of its final 14 shots.

But FHU hung on, getting a key defensive stop up eight points just inside a minute to play when Natalie Shumpert rebounded a missed 3-pointer by Angie Wells. The Lady Lions were then able to run enough time off the clock before getting fouled to put the game out of reach.

Jana Cross led all scorers with 18 points while Deatheridge had 15, including four 3-pointers to push her NAIA-leading total to 53. Meribeth Boehler led both teams in rebounds (eight) and assists (three).

The Lady Lions now begin preparation for No. 1 Union (Tenn.) University next Saturday at the FHU Sports Center.