JACKSON, Tenn. - For the 10th time in 13 years, the Lady Lions of Freed Hardeman University are headed to the Sweet 16 following a 73-59 win over the Flying Queens of Wayland Baptist (Texas) University.
Tonight marked the third time the two programs had faced off, with each game being played at the national tournament. It was the first time, though, that the higher seed won. Unseeded FHU knocked off No. 2 WBU in 1999 during its run to the Fab Four; Wayland returned the favor in 2003 as a No. 7 seed in their quarter.
Both teams shot the ball well at the outset with neither able to establish a large lead. Beginning with a Meribeth Boehler field goal at the 15:44 mark, the Lady Lions were able to go on a small run over the next three and a half minutes to take a six-point lead at 21-15.
But the Flying Queens would come storming back over the next 10 minutes, mounting a 19-7 run to take their largest lead of the first half (34-28) with 2:37 remaining. The Lady Lions missed their last 13 shots from the field, heading to halftime with a 36-31 deficit.
The second half would begin much like the first half ended as the Lady Lions were unable to connect from the floor. A pair of free throws by Shamon Doss and a field goal by Rose Ouma pushed the Wayland Baptist lead to nine points with 17:50 to play, but FHU answered over the next four-plus minutes with a 13-4 run to tie the game at 44-44.
Jana Cross's field goal with 11:35 on the clock gave Freed-Hardeman the lead for good. The Lady Lions would outscore the Flying Queens 27-13 down the stretch to secure their spot in the Sweet 16.
Although the Lady Lions shot just 32.3 percent in the first half, Freed Hardeman head coach Dale Neal was pleased with the way his team shot the ball early in the game as the Lady Lions made 10 of their first 18 shots, including four 3-pointers.
"We shot 21 percent in our last game. Performances like that have a way of carrying over sometimes," he said. "I was very pleased with the way the girls were able to push it to the back of their minds and shoot the ball well early."
After the cold spell that closed the first half, the Lady Lions were able to connect on 51.9 percent of their shots in the second half to help overcome the nine-point deficit.
Freed Hardeman (25-8) was led by State Farm/WBCA NAIA Player of the Year Jana Cross, who scored 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Whitney Johnson added 13 points and four assists. Chelsie Alsup connected on three of her four 3-point attempts and finished with 12 points, as did Tara Deatheridge. Meribeth Boehler pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with her seven points. The Lady Lions shot 41.4 percent (24-of-48) from the floor in the game and 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from behind the arc.
Wayland Baptist (22-12) was led in scoring by Rose Ouma's 16 points. Alex Williams and Shamon Doss each contributed 10. Doss also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. However, the Flying Queens were held to just 32.8 percent shooting for the game and 24.3 percent in the second half.
The Lady Lions will play again Friday night at 8:00 against the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) which advanced with a win over Lewis-Clark State (Idaho).
