Matt Barker, Sports Information Director

JACKSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lady Lion Basketball team proved they could play with any team in the country Saturday evening, as they picked up a convincing 79-66 victory over No. 2 Shawnee State University at the NAIA Invitational in Jackson, Tenn.

FHU Senior guard Sandrea Sylman led the charge for FHU (7-0), as she put up 29 points after shooting 11-for-14 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. With Saturday's 29 point performance, the Chattanooga, Tenn. native has now reached the 29 point benchmark in three of the seven games played during the 2018-19 season.

Three other Lady Lion players reached double digits on the attack including Chynia Brooks, who fired in 16 points while Haylee Croom recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Carrie Hatchel rounded out FHU's offense with 12 points.

Ashton Lovely led Shawnee State (7-2) on the attack and matched Sylman's offensive performance with 29 points of her own. Lovely shot an impressive 10-for-20 from the field and 5-for-12 from behind the arc to account for a majority of the offense for the Bears. Shania Massie followed close behind with 13 points while Sienna King recorded two blocks in the loss.

The Lady Lions shot 47 percent from the field and 36 percent from behind the arc in the match-up compared to Shawnee State, who shot 39 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc. Both teams were fairly even on the turnover ratio, as each team turned the ball over just 10 times in the match-up.

The Lady Lions dominated the match-up from the opening tip, as they out-shot the Bears 24-13 in the first quarter to take a double digit lead in the early going. From there, FHU kept a double digit lead for a majority of the half, as they entered the break up 38-26.

The second half was much of the same for the Lady Lions, as they reached their largest lead of the game at the 52-33 mark with 6:02 remaining in the third quarter. Shawnee State would mount a late comeback in the fourth quarter and pull within eight points at the 68-60 mark with 4:46 remaining in regulation, but it was not enough, as the Lady Lions held on for the 79-66 victory.

With the win, the Lady Lions move to 7-0 on the season. Shawnee State University falls to 7-2 on the season with the loss.

UP NEXT: The Lady Lions are back in action Tuesday, November 27th, as they host Central Baptist College for a 5:30 PM match-up at the Brewer Sports Center.

For all the latest information regarding the Freed-Hardeman Women's Basketball team, be sure to follow FHU Athletics on all our social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, all @gofhulions