Box Score HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions wrap up the regular season home schedule tonight as they host Williams Baptist (Ark.) College at 5:30 PM.
GAME COVERAGE
Video: FHU Game Central
Audio: FHU Game Central; FM91 (John Armstrong, play-by-play; Jason Shockley, color)
Stats: Live Stats
SETTING THE STAGE
No. 1 Freed-Hardeman (27-1, 22-0) looks for its 28th consecutive win after scoring a season-high 119 points on Saturday. Williams Baptist (11-15, 10-11) is tied for seventh place in the conference with Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) as the Eagles fight for position in postseason seeding. FHU will be without leading rebounder and second-leading scorer Grace Alonso de Armino for the second straight game.
LAST TIME THEY MET
FHU played without Hayley Newby but it didn't matter as Grace Alonso de Armino scored 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Lady Lions to a 90-65 win in Walnut Ridge, Ark., on Jan. 6. Brandee Busenlehner added 17 points while Taleeah Cross had 13.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Freed-Hardeman's win in January was its 10th-straight in the series. The Lady Lions lead the all-time series, 13-6. WBC's last win in the series came on Jan. 16, 1997.
CONFERENCE CHAMPS
Freed-Hardeman's two wins last week resulted in the program's sixth regular-season conference championship. The Lady Lions won the TranSouth Conference titles in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2013 and the American Midwest Conference titles in 2014 and 2015. FHU will look to win its seventh tournament championship in March, taking tournament titles in all the years listed above as well as a TranSouth Conference championship in 2010.
ALMOST 1000
Hayley Newby continues to close in on 1000 career rebounds, entering today with 990 in her career. She is aiming to become the sixth player in program history and second this year to reach 1000 career rebounds.
STILL STREAKING
The Lady Lions have now won 27 straight games, longest in program history topping last year's record of 24 straight. It's the fifth time in program history that the team has posted a winning streak of 20 games or more.
MORE WINS THAN ANYONE ELSE
With FHU's win on Thursday, seniors Hayley Newby and Grace Alonso de Armino have won more games than any other players in Freed-Hardeman history. Since coming to FHU in the 2011-12 season, the Lady Lions are an amazing 125-11. The previous record of 123 wins was held by the 2006 senior class that included Ashlee Robertson, Julie Hayes, Stacey Bullard and Hannah Wood.
MARGINALLY SPEAKING
The Lady Lions are among the nation's best in three important margin categories. FHU is first in rebounding margin at plus-15.1 and has bounced back and forth between first and second for most of the season. FHU is also first in scoring margin (+30.6) and third in turnover margin (+8.6).
BIG WINS
Of Freed-Hardeman's 27 wins this season, only two have been by fewer than 10 points - and both of those have been at home, where the Lady Lions have been virtually unbeatable. FHU's closest games this season have been a pair of five-point wins over Bethel (Tenn.) and Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.).
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Williams Baptist is a deep and balanced team with nine players averging 10 or more minutes per game and six players averaging better than six points per game. Meagan Goza is the only one to average in double-figures at 11.4 points per game and also leads the team on the boards with 7.4 rebounds per game. Always a strong rebounding team, this year has been no exception for the Eagles. They pull down an average of 41.4 rebounds per game and out-rebound opponents by an average of 4.5 per game.