PULASKI, Tenn. - On Thursday night, the Mid-Continent University women's basketball team played what was arguable their best game this season in TranSouth Athletic Conference play. As the game wore on, however, it became apparent that there is still room for improvement.

Mid-Continent (7-19, 0-6) generated some offensive rhythm for much of their game with the Martin Methodist RedHawks (14-14, 3-3), but rebounding still proved to be a major issue, as the Cougars yielded 17 second chance points to Martin Methodist, falling 64-52.

The game started very slowly, as neither team scored for nearly the first three and a half minutes of play, with Martin Methodist finally breaking the ice at the 16:42 mark. Mid-Continent claimed the lead with baskets from Stephanie Malone and Sian House, but a 3-pointer from Rachel brown ignited a 7-0 Martin Methodist run, and the REdHawks did not trail again. Mid-Continent closed to within a single point twice in the next two minutes of play, but as the game wore on, the RedHawks began to inch away from the Cougars. Late in the first half, Martin Methodist used a 6-0 run to push their lead to 13 at 33-20, and at the break, Mid-Continent trailed 36-24. Twice in the second stanza, Mid-Continent closed the game to eight points, but in the end, second chances proved to be the difference, and Martin Methodist pulled out the win 64-52.

Malone posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but she was the only Mid-Continent player to score in double figures. Lindsey Woody and Breona Houston each added nine markers in the loss, and Natalie Taylor scored eight for the Cougars. Mid-Continent connected on 19-of-46 (41.3%) shots, including 4-of-17 (23.5%) from deep. At the line, Mid-Continent posted a 10-for-17 (58.8%) effort.

The road does not get any easier for Mid-Continent, as the Cougars now hit the road to face the #1 Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions on Saturday. The Lady Lions (25-1, 6-0) have already clinched a share of the 2012-13 TranSouth regular season crown, and the game on Saturday is scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m.