By Dustin Semore – FHU Sports Information Director
A layup from KJ White with nine seconds left in the game was the game-winner as the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions topped the No. 24 Georgetown (Ky.) College Tigers 61-60.
After a 3-pointer from the hosting Tigers, Raegan Purvine and Rachel Satterly teamed up for a pair of triples of their own to help push Freed-Hardeman (12-4, 7-4 MSC) to a lead. A steal and a score from White gave the Lady Lions a 10-5 lead with 5:46 remaining in the first frame. A set of layups from Georgetown closed the gap, but Kalea Fleming hit two free throws and White bucketed another layup to close the first quarter with the Lady Lions ahead 20-16.
Neither the Georgetown (11-6, 7-4 MSC) Tiger nor Freed-Hardeman Lady Lion offense could find the hoop in the first two minutes of the second quarter before White’s layup pushed FHU’s lead to six. It was an eight-point unanswered run by the tag team of Fleming and Purvine that pushed the Lady Lions to their largest lead of the half at nine points, with 1:15 left to play in the second quarter. Back-to-back old-fashioned three-point plays for the Tigers ended the first half with FHU leading 32-27.
The Lady Lions had an emotional rollercoaster for a third quarter. After utilizing an 11-2 run to give the girls in maroon and white their largest lead of the contest at 44-34, the Tigers exploded for a nine-point unmatched streak to end the third quarter. Moving into the final frame, FHU maintained a 44-43 lead.
A 3-pointer to start the quarter gave Georgetown their first lead since the first minute of the contest. Madisyn Baugher and White reclaimed the lead with a set of layups. From there, the Lady Lions and Tigers traded points until Elli Chumley hit two free throws to give FHU a one-point lead in the final minute. Georgetown’s Erin Toller bucketed a layup with 25 seconds remaining to flip the lead, but it was a good pass from Fleming that led to White’s layup with nine ticks remaining to give the Lady Lions the 61-60 victory.
KJ White led the FHU scoring by matching her season’s best total with 18 points. White joined Elli Chumley with a team-high seven rebounds. Raegan Purvine’s 5-6 day from the floor gave her 14 points, while Madisyn Baugher finished with 12 buckets.
