Box Score JACKSON, Tenn. - In a tournament where experience counts, it was a pair of freshmen who joined a senior in coming up big for Freed-Hardeman.

The trio of senior Tara Deatheridge and freshmen Natalie Shumpert and Maria Bagwell combined for 49 points as the third-seeded Lady Lions knocked off Lubbock Christian (Texas) University, 73-64, to advance to the Sweet 16 at the NAIA National Tournament on Thursday night.

It is the 11th trip to the Sweet 16 in 14 appearances for Freed-Hardeman, which got there last year before losing to University of the Cumberlands (Ky.).

Bagwell and Deatheridge did most of their damage in the second half after Shumpert carried FHU offensively in the first half. Shumpert scored 12 points before halftime, including seven straight late in the half to help the Lady Lions keep pace with the Lady Chaps, who shot 48.1 percent in the first 20 minutes. She finished with 18 points.

Bagwell gave FHU a preview of what was to come in the second half, putting back a Shumpert miss with 3.1 seconds left to tie the game at 33-33. The play itself went under video review after Shumpert's long 3-pointer appeared to graze the rim as the shot clock expired, but the officials decided to make sure they got the call right.

Then, with Meribeth Boehler hampered by foul trouble in the second half, Bagwell played much bigger in the post than her 5-foot-7 frame would indicate. Boehler, FHU's second-leading scorer at 14.3 points per game, logged only six minutes after halftime and picked up her fifth foul with 9:28 to play. Bagwell responded by scoring six points and seven rebounds in her absence. She had a big steal with FHU ahead by four with 1:54 left, and gave the Lady Lions an extra possession with an offensive rebound of a missed free throw with :58.6 left.

"[Maria] was phenomenal," said FHU head coach Dale Neal, who won his 18th game at the national tournament. "We were in trouble with Meribeth out. It was a performance we had to have if we were going to pull that game out."

Bagwell said she was used to the big tournament environment, having led her high school team - Hume Fogg Magnet - to the state tournament last season in her senior year.

"My mindset was to go in and win," she said. "I just stepped in and did what I could do the best. It was tough but it's tournament time."

Finally, Deatheridge - one of just two seniors on the team - had one of her best games in the last two months with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting. She hit some big shots in a crucial stretch when LCU was attempting to cut into Freed-Hardeman's lead, knocking down a 3-pointer with 5:39 to go and later hitting a runner from the right baseline with 4:00 to play that gave the Lady Lions a 58-55 lead.

"We all had to pick up our game," she said, referring to the final nine minutes after Boehler fouled out. "We stuck together and obviously Maria played huge."

Neither team led by more than four points until an 11-0 run by FHU gave the Lady Lions a 53-46 lead with 8:48 remaining. Lubbock fought back, getting within one point at 56-55 until Deatheridge's jumper to the four-minute mark kept Freed-Hardeman on top.

After LCU made one-of-two free throws on its next possession, Whitney Johnson made a tough shot in traffic with three seconds on the shot clock to extend the lead to 60-56. Bagwell's steal came moments later with FHU's lead still at four, and the Lady Lions would get their last 10 points in the game at the free throw line after that steal. Freed-Hardeman, which ranks fifth in the nation in free throw percentage, made 10-of-12 down the stretch to seal the win.

The Lady Lions improve to 27-6 on the season and advance to take on the winner of Azusa Pacific (Calif.)/Montana Tech at 9:45 on Friday.