Despite entering the fourth quarter trailing by nine points, the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions exploded with a 16-7 final frame to force overtime against the Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College Blue Raiders. In extra time, FHU's defense stifled LWC to leave with a 62-55 victory.
Looking to bounce back after their season's first loss, Freed-Hardeman (9-1, 4-1 MSC) fell victim to a heavy 3-point attack from the Blue Raiders. LWC tallied five long balls in the opening 10 minutes and from there, the Lady Lions were in an uphill battle. FHU spent a good portion of the game trailing by double-digits, ending the first quarter down 19-9.
Despite the early hole, FHU matched Lindsey Wilson (5-5, 1-5 MSC) shot for shot in the second quarter, with Rachel Satterly and Madisyn Baugher knocking down 3-pointers before giving way to a five-point spurt from Kelsey Bender. Despite the strong quarter, the Lady Lions remained down by ten points at the end of 20 minutes, trailing 32-22 at the half.
After a quick layup from Raegan Purvine to start the third quarter, the Blue Raiders thought they had put the game in the bag, driving into the paint on a 9-0 run to jump ahead 43-26 at the 4:04 mark of the third quarter. Undeterred, the Lady Lions dished the ball around to have four different girls in maroon bucket points to narrow that gap by ending the quarter on a 9-1 run to enter the final frame with a 44-35 score.
Free throws in the final quarter proved the difference-maker. The Lady Lions were 8-for-10 from the charity stripe in the quarter. It was a 3-pointer from Baugher with 1:52 remaining that completed the comeback to knot the contest at 48-48. Satterly and Bender made their free throws to give FHU their first lead at 51-48 with under 30 seconds remaining. Despite coming up empty on all of their 3-point attempts in the second half, Lindsey Wilson's first triple of the second half came at the perfect time, with Dayja Evans tying up the game at 51-51 to force overtime.
The Blue Raiders opened up the overtime period with a layup, but that proved to be the only field goal for the hosts in overtime, as they finished the game shooting 1-for-10 from the floor. Satterly converted an old-fashioned three-point play before Kalea Fleming hit a 3-point field goal. KJ White and Baugher hit their free throws to close out the comeback win 62-55.
Rachel Satterly tallied a team-high 19 points, with KJ White going 5-for-5 from the free-throw line to help her to an 11-point effort to go along with her team-best six assists. Madisyn Baugher hit three 3-point field goals to push her to 10 points. Kelsey Bender was a vacuum underneath, out-rebounding all players with 12 boards.
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