Cougar News

Henderson, TN - Freed-Hardeman University (14-4, 2-3 TSAC), ranked sixth in the NAIA national coaches' poll, snapped a three-game losing streak at the expense of Mid-Continent University (1-16, 0-6 TSAC) with a 109-48 TranSouth conference women's basketball victory over the Cougars, Saturday, Jan. 23, in Henderson, Tennessee. FHU led 62-22 at halftime, stretched the lead to 61 points in the last minutes of the game, and finished with the most points that MCU has allowed in a game this season.

    Next week, MCU hosts Blue Mountain College, Thursday, Jan. 28, at 6:00 p.m., and Cumberland University, Saturday, Jan. 30, at 2:00 p.m., at the Mayfield High School Sports Arena.

    Junior guard Tiffany Payton (Wadesville, IN/Mater Dei HS/Kaskaskia College, IL)led MCU with 17 points and 5 rebounds, and junior forward Katie Perry (Anchorage, AK/Grace Christian School) added 7 points and 7 rebounds. 6-3 center Kandi Knupp (Iuka, MS/Tishomingo County HS/N.E. Mississippi CC) scored 7 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and blocked 3 shots, and reserve forward Alisha Herndon (Clarksville, TN/Montgomery Central HS) added 4 points and 4 rebounds. Sophomore Amanda Daugherty (Golconda, IL/Pope County HS) tossed in 6 points, gathered 3 rebounds and passed off 2 assists.

     Five Lions scored in double figures, and FHU totaled 52 gift points off of 34 MCU turnovers. Senior All-TSAC guard Tara Deatheridge led FHU with 18 points, 15 in the first half, made 4 three-pointers, grabbed 2 rebounds and stole the ball 4 times. Guard Hannah Parsley scored 17 points, 11 in the first half, passed 5 assists and had 2 steals, and senior All-TSAC forward Jana Cross contributed 16 points, including 8 of 9 free throws, and added 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Freshman reserve forward Leslie Morgan scored 10 points, 9 in the first half, hit three-pointers and stole the ball twice, and reserve guard Maria Bagwell totaled 13 points, 8 in the first half, made 7 of 8 free throws, gathered 6 rebounds and led FHU with 5 steals. All-TSAC second team center Meribeth Boehler added 11 points on 5 of 7 shots, and had 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

     In the first half, MCU shot .526 (10-19) while FHU shot .564 (22-39). Payton led the Lady Cougars with 8 points on 4 of 6 shots, and Herndon came off the bench for 4 points and 3 rebounds. FHU nailed 8 three-pointers and stole the ball 16 times and totaled 30 points off 20 Mid-Continent first-half turnovers.

    Deatheridge scored 15 of the Lady Lions' first 34 points with 3 three-point field goals and 2 steals in the first 13:17 of the game. Morgan scored 9 consecutive points with 2 three-pointers and a three-point play that propelled the Lions to a 45-18 lead with 4:13 left, and FHU extended the run to 38-6 and led 62-22 by halftime. Parsley added 10 points with 2 three-pointers in the first half, and Bagwell added 8. Cross contributed 7 first-half points with 3 rebounds.

     FHU outscored MCU, 25-11, in the first 10 minutes of the second half and posted the first of three 54-point leads, 87-33, and hit its widest advantage with 36 seconds left.

     For the game, MCU shot .409 from the field (18-44), made 1 of 9 three-pointers and 11 of 14 free throws and finished with 34 turnovers, 20 in the first half. Freed-Hardeman shot .500 from the field (40-80), hit 10 of 31 three-pointers and made 19 of 23 free throws and committed just 8 turnovers. The Lady Lions outrebounded MCU, 41-30, and stole the ball 25 times.