INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - The Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions haven't been a deep team this season.

But when Grace Alonso de Armino and Taleeah Cross both left the game in the first half, one due to foul trouble and one due to an injury, the tournament's top-seeded team needed to get production from its bench.

Junior Kenley Crowell and freshman Kim Mallory did just that, both playing quality minutes and the Lady Lions held off an upset-minded Benedictine (Kan.) squad for a 69-62 win in the second round of the NAIA Division I Women's National Basketball Tournament.

Both Crowell (26 minutes) and Mallory (21 minutes) played well above their average number of minutes for the season. It was necessary after Alonso de Armino picked up her second foul only 2:20 into the contest and Cross went down with 7:15 left in the half after a collision with Paige Melville chasing down a loose ball. Cross and Melville bumped heads, with Cross getting the worst of it. She left the game and did not return.

FHU (34-1) led by 10 when Cross went out and was able to go ahead by as many as 13 shortly thereafter, but her absence began to have an effect taking away the team's best dribble-penetration threat. The Ravens, playing in front of a big crowd with the event's taking place 50 minutes from campus, drew energy from the crowd and pulled back within seven with 1:47 to go in the half.

Hayley Newby, though, made a layup during the final minute to extend the team to 36-27 at halftime.

As it turned out, FHU would need every point.

Though the Lady Lions never trailed from the 15:00 mark of the first half, they never could pull away. The lead fluctuated between five and 10 points for most of the second half with Benedictine getting back within five with 2:35 to play, then got the ball back after FHU missed on two chances on the other end.

But Jackie Ziesel missed a 3-pointer and Alonso de Armino cleared the rebound. She passed out of a double-team to Crowell, who was then fouled with less than a minute to play.

If she had nerves at the line, Crowell didn't show it. The junior drained both ends of the double-bonus to extend the lead to seven. FHU then forced another miss, and this time it was Newby who was fouled and made two free throws, turning it into a three-possession game.

Jordan Kramer hit a deep step-back 3-pointer to cut it to six and the Ravens fouled Brandee Busenleher before the inbound pass could be made. Busenlehner made the first and missed the second. but grabbed her own rebound with 8.1 seconds left and FHU ran out the clock.

Benedictine (26-9) had been on a hot streak coming into the game, winning its conference tournament as a three-seed and then knocking off No. 14 Wiley (Texas) in the opening round of the national tournament.

Newby bounced back from a rough first-round game with 22 points and nine rebounds. Alonso de Armino posted her 23rd double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds while Busenlehner narrowly missed a triple-double as she finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Paige Melville added 11 for Freed-Hardeman.

UP NEXT: The Lady Lions head into the quarterfinals for the ninth time and will face Montana State-Northern on Saturday at 4:00 PM. The game can been seen on the NAIA Network and heard on FM91 and FHU Game Central.

QUOTES: Coach Dale Neal | Hayley Newby

NOTES AND NUMBERS: A definitive update on Cross's condition was not readily available after the game, and her status for tomorrow's game is unknown…Busenlehner was one assist away from the program's first triple-double since Dec. 4, 1998, which was recorded by Qiana Elam. Elam did it with points, rebounds and steals…Alonso de Armino, a native of Bilbao, Spain, was able to play in front of her parents for the first time as they made the trip to Kansas City…Alonso de Armino now has 1162 career rebounds, leaving her two short of becoming the program's second leading rebounder of all time…Newby surpassed 1800 career points today and also moved into third all-time in career rebounding with 1067.

TOURNAMENT NOTES: FHU is the only American Midwest Conference team remaining in both the women's and men's tournaments. Lyon (Ark.) and William Woods (Mo.) women both lost in the first round…Friday's opening game saw Lindsay Abramson of Great Falls (Mont.) make 3-pointer at the buzzer to knock off Langston (Okla.). It marks the second year in a row that a No. 7 seed has advanced to the quarterfinals…MSU-N's A'hja Edwards had a monster game today with 35 points and 28 rebounds. FHU will have to contend with her tomorrow.