HENDERSON, Tenn. - For those used to watching the Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions over the years, Friday night's season opener presented quite a different look.

Going 14 deep and utilizing full-court pressure defense, the new-look Lady Lions built a 20-point halftime lead and cruised to an 85-59 win over the University of Saint Francis (Ill.) at the Brewer Sports Center.

Freshman Hayley Newby led all scorers with 18 points as eight different players scored at least six points for the Lady Lions.

FHU jumped on top quickly, scoring the game's first seven points, then went on a 15-2 run to take a 26-8 lead with 11:12 left in the half. However, after a Layce Colter 3-pointer at the 9:59 mark, the Lady Lions went cold from the field missing seven straight shots and allowing USF to pull back within 11 (30-19) with five minutes left.

A Grace Alonso de Armino putback broke the cold spell and Freed-Hardeman closed the half on a 15-6 run to take a 20 point lead into halftime.

The cold shooting extended into the second half with FHU shooting 35.6 percent and converting on only one of 10 3-point attempts. The Lady Lions made up for it by dominating the offensive glass with 19 second-chance points off of 19 offensive rebounds. FHU had a total of 32 offensive rebounds for the game, three more than the total number of rebounds for Saint Francis.

Maria Bagwell and Brittany Montgomery both reached double digits with 10 points, and Bagwell finished with eight rebounds. Natalie Shumpert added nine points while Alonso de Armino joined Newby with an impressive debut of eight points, nine rebounds and five assists. In addition to her game-high 18 points, Newby also grabbed six rebounds.

The Lady Lions return to action tomorrow hosting Tougaloo (Miss.) College at 2:00 PM. Tougaloo lost earlier in the day to Bethel (Tenn.) University, 75-65.