MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Lady Lions (5-3, 0-3 MSC) fell short against their rival No. 14 Bethel (5-2, 2-0 MSC) on Thursday night, falling 60-57 in a hard-fought matchup that came down to the final shot.

The Wildcats led for the nearly the entire matchup, but the Lady Lions never let them get comfortable, especially in the second half. Bethel took a nine-point lead heading into the break, but an 11-3 run in the third quarter, led by Raegan Purvine and Hannah Hughes, cut it to a five-point deficit heading into the final period.

After being down by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Lady Lions stormed back thanks to big 3-pointers from Purvine and Alli Crumpler, as well as strong post play from Caroline Chambers and knocking down shots at the charity stripe.

The Lady Lions had a couple decent looks, down three points, as time expired, but they were unable to convert the last-second 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

FHU was led in scoring by Hughes with 14 points. She was followed by Chambers, who finished the contest with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Crumpler had a strong performance, scoring 12 points, and Purvine rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points.

The Lady Lions will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Lindsey Wilson for an early-season rematch. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.