HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions wrap up a three-game road swing with a visit to Missouri Baptist on Thursday at 5:30 PM in St. Louis.

GAME COVERAGE
Video: Spartan Digital Network
Stats: Live Stats

SETTING THE STAGE
FHU (21-1, 16-0) picked up an important road win on Saturday over then-No. 24 Columbia (Mo.) to maintain its two-game lead in the American Midwest Conference standings. Missouri Baptist (6-13, 6-9) sits in 10th place in the AMC but is in the thick of a battle for sixth place, only 1.5 games out of that spot.

LAST TIME THEY MET
The Spartans hung around for most of the first half before FHU closed on a 9-0 run and continued to add to its lead in the second half on the way to a 77-54 win on Dec. 18, 2014, in Henderson. Grace Alonso de Armino (21 points, 15 rebounds) and Hayley Newby (16 points, 13 rebounds) led the way with double-doubles for FHU.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Freed-Hardeman leads the all-time series, 4-0. Last year marked the first-ever meeting between the programs with the Lady Lions winning all three contests including one in the conference tournament.

STILL WINNING
FHU enters tonight's game with a 21-game winning streak, three games away from tying the school record of 24 set last season. It is the fifth time in program history that the Lady Lions have put together a 20-plus game winning streak (2005-06, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14).

MARCH TO 800
Dale Neal enters today's game with 796 career wins. In his 21 years at FHU, he has won 563 games. His other 233 victories came at York (Neb.) College as the men's coach.

GETTING IT BACK
Reigning AMC Player of the Year Hayley Newby was slowed by an ankle injury in early January, but seems to back to her old form now. In her last four games, she is shooting 65.8 percent from the floor while averaging 15.5 points per game in shortened minutes due to blowout wins. She had 22 in Saturday's win over Columbia.

10 IN THE TOP 10
FHU ranks in the top 10 nationally in 10 statistical categories. The Lady Lions still lead the nation in offensive rebounding (19.1 per game) and rebound margin (+15.0), are second in turnover margin (+7.7) and third in scoring margin (+28.8). FHU has also climbed up in 3-point shooting percentage, now ranking 14th, but dropped out of the top 10 in free throw percentage to 12th.

BATTLING ON THE BOARDS
One thing Freed-Hardeman can always count on from Grace Alonso de Armino whether her shot is falling or not - she is going to rebound. Alonso de Armino still leads the nation in rebounding with 13.3 per game and offensive rebounding with 6.1 per game. She's also been very active on defense, leading the team with 2.5 steals per game. She's had six steals in each of her two last outings. On the boards, she has grabbed double-digits in rebounds 17 times and 15 or more nine times.

CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
Newby and Alonso de Armino are both on the rise in several career statistical categories at FHU. Newby currently ranks 11th in points (1596), seventh in rebounds (939), 11th in field goals made (625) and ninth in free throws made (342). Alonso de Armino is 19th in points (1278), fifth in rebounds (1045), sixth in steals (208) and 14th in field goals made (510).

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Since the December meeting in Henderson, MBU has gone 5-5 and nearly upset Columbia (Mo.) but missed a last-second shot to win. Their games have been very low-scoring as the Spartans average 64.7 points per game and allow 67.7 points per game. It's been a slightly slower pace in their last 10, so expect a low-scoring game tonight. The Spartans like to drive and work the ball inside and shoot very few 3-pointers with only 12.5 percent of their shots coming from behind the arc. Most of those come from their leading scorer, Taylor Klingelhoefer, who averages 14.1 points per game and has made 28-of-72 3's.