Matt Barker, Sports Information Director

HENDERSON, Tenn. - The No. 7 Freed-Hardeman Lady Lion basketball team will look to pick up their tenth win of the season tonight as they travel to Williams Baptist (Ark.) College for a 5:30 PM matchup in Walnut Ridge, Ark.

SETTING THE STAGE

FHU (9-4, 5-2 AMC) enters tonight's matchup coming off an 87-43 blowout victory over Central Baptist (Ark.) College (5-6, 2-5 AMC) on Saturday, January 2. Tiffany Pate led the Lady Lions on the offensive end as she recorded her third double of the year and finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kim Mallory followed close behind as she went 3-for-6 from the field and finished with 12 points while Kenley Crowell and Erika Zurauskaite, each had 11 points.

Taleeah Cross, who leads the Lady Lions in three offensive categories, continued her strong play and nearly put up a double-double of her own with eight points and 12 rebounds while Sandrea Sylman came off the bench to chip in 10 points in the victory. FHU shot 41.7 percent in the game compared to Central Baptist who shot just 27.1 percent as they went 13-for-48 from the field. The Lady Lions also dominated on the glass as they out-rebounded Central Baptist 42-31 in the contest.

FHU dominated the matchup from the opening tip as they went on an 11-0 scoring run to start the game as it took Central Baptist nearly four minutes to score their first point of the game. The Lady Lions gave up just three points to Central Baptist in the first quarter as they out-shot the Mustangs 22-3 to carry a 19-point lead into the second quarter.

The second half was much of the same for the Lady Lions as they continued to extend their lead courtesy of several FHU players contributing on the offensive end, including several bench players that put up solid minutes in the matchup. FHU would lead by as many as 49 in the fourth quarter as they were able to extend their lead at the 87-38 mark with 2:15 remaining in the game. The Lady Lions would finish the game up 44 as they cruised to an 87-43 victory.

Williams Baptist College (8-3, 3-3 AMC) enters tonight's contest coming off a 52-74 loss to No. 14 Lyon (Ark.) College on Saturday, January 2. Alytrius Perry led the Eagles in total offense with 17 points as she shot 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Da'Monique Brown also contributed on the offensive end with seven points and two assists in the contest.

Williams Baptist shot 34 percent from the field in the contest compared to Lyon, who shot 37 percent from the field. The Eagles committed 26 turnovers in the matchup compared to Lyon, who committed 12 turnovers. The Scots also won the rebound battle as they pulled down 42 rebounds compared to Williams Baptist, who had 35 rebounds as a team.

INSIDE THE SERIES

The Lady Lions faced Williams Baptist three times last season, twice in conference play and once in the AMC Tournament quarterfinals. The first meeting between the two schools last season was on January 6, 2015 as the Lady Lions traveled to Walnut Ridge and came away with a convincing 90-65 victory.

Grace Alonso de Armino scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, exiting the game with 10:00 still remaining as Freed-Hardeman had extended their lead to 31. She opened the game with a 3-pointer, and the Lady Lions started to create some distance thanks to a 16-2 run that extended their lead to 31-12 with 7:30 left in the first half.

FHU then went on a 12-1 run early in the second half, going ahead by 31 points, and allowing the Lady Lion reserves to get plenty of action. The Lady Eagles cut the lead down to 19 points late before FHU went on a 9-3 run to finish to game. Brandee Busenlehner scored a career-high 17 points while Taleeah Cross added 13 points, nine assists and five steals.

In the second match up between the two schools at the Brewer Sports Center on February 23, the Lady Lions put together an even better shooting performance as they came away with a 93-43 victory. WBC's physicality made the first half a grind, but the Lady Lions used runs of 15-4 and 14-5 during the half to take a comfortable 46-22 lead into halftime.

In the second half, things worked more efficiency on the offensive end as FHU shot 57 percent from the field. Transition was also a key as the Lady Lions got several baskets by beating the Eagles down the floor.

Defensively, it was more of the same from Freed-Hardeman despite Grace Alonso de Armino's absence. FHU forced 25 turnovers and had 17 steals, with nine of those coming from Taleeah Cross leaving her one short of tying the program record. Cross finished the night with 16 points while Newby had 15 points for her 11th double-double of the season.

The final matchup between the two schools last season was in the AMC Tournament quarterfinals on March 3 as the Lady Lions came away with a 57-35 victory, despite shooting just 26.3 percent from the field. However, WBC struggled as well and shot slightly worse than Freed-Hardeman at 23.5 percent from the field.

The Lady Lions got off to a strong start, opening the game on a 14-1 run but then went ice-cold making just six of their next 26 shots of the half. Williams Baptist trailed by as many as 16 in the half but managed to get back within 11 by halftime. Both teams' shooting woes continued in the second half, but FHU was able to create more opportunities with its offensive rebounding as they defeated the Eagles and advanced to the AMC Semifinals to face Columbia (Mo.) College.

FHU will look to have a similar result against the Eagles this season as they strive for their tenth win of the season in the 5:30 PM matchup in Walnut Ridge, Ark.

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