The No. 2 Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions used a 23-point fourth quarter to hoist the 2026 NAIA Women’s Basketball Championship First and Second Round Presented by Ballogy trophy. Playing in front of their home fans in the Henderson regional presented by E&T Contracting, the Lady Lions got the 73-64 victory over the No. 9 seed Bethel (Ind.) University Pilots to advance to the round of 16.
Though Ally Weathers’ layup got the top-seeded Lady Lions (25-7) on the board first, the Pilots had the upper hand in the first quarter, with a 3-pointer at 5:58 giving Bethel a 10-4 advantage. Lilly Kee would add a pair of jumpers, but a late layup gave the Pilots an 18-10 lead after the first quarter.
The Lions changed gears in the second quarter, storing out to score nine unanswered points to take a 19-18 lead. FHU held the Pilots (21-11) scoreless for the first 3:26 of the quarter with Carissa Curtis’ 3-pointer helping forge the Lady Lions ahead. Weathers continued to score in bunches, tallying eight of the Lady Lions next 10 points. Curtis would add another late 3-pointer to go into the locker room holding a 34-31 lead.
Freed-Hardeman and Bethel traded scores in the third period with Rachel Satterly joining with a triple before Weathers had a pair of layups in transition. R. Satterly’s layup gave the Lady Lions a 50-43 edge after three complete quarters.
The Lady Lions’ shooting from the free throw line kept the Pilots at bay with FHU scoring 10 points from the charity stripe in the final quarter. Kee would score 13 points in the finale to help FHU to the 73-64 victory.
FHU shot 54% from the floor in the victory while holding Bethel to a 37% night of shooting.
Lilly Kee led all scorers with 21 points while Ally Weathers had 19 points in the victory. Jenna Satterly chipped in with 18 points.
Up Next - The Lady Lions will travel nearly 800 miles to face a very familiar face. Mid-South Conference foe (RV) Georgetown won their own regional and FHU will now line up with the No. 5 seed in the round of 16 at the Tyson Events Center. Tipoff is at 1 p.m., March 19, from Sioux City, Iowa.
Jenna Sattery, Weathers lead FHU to first round win
The 2026 NAIA Women’s Basketball First Round presented by Ballogy opened well for the No. 2 and top-seeded Lady Lions. FHU advanced to the Henderson Regional Presented by E&T Contracting’s final with a 77-53 win over the 16-seed Rust (Miss.) College Bearcats. Jenna Satterly led the way with a game-high 26 points while Ally Weathers secured a tournament double-double.
It was Rachel Satterly that got the scoring rolling for the Lady Lions (24-7), scoring the first four points of the game in the paint. Ally Weathers joined later in the first quarter with three points before Jenna Satterly’s 3-pointer and Lilly Kee’s jumper gave the Lady Lions a 13-11 edge after the first quarter.
FHU began to separate from Rust (14-17) with Kee’s jumper and J. Satterly’s 3-pointer opening an eight-point swing to put the Lady Lions ahead by double digits. Alaina Stiles ended the half with a layup to give the Lady Lions a 27-21 lead at the break.
FHU began to light up the nets in the third quarter with Brooklyn Crouch opening the second half with a 3-pointer before J. Satterly added three more points. FHU stunned the Bearcats with six fast-break points in a little over two minutes with R. Satterly’s layup putting FHU on top 48-31. J. Satterly wrapped up the quarter with a layup and a 15-point lead.
The fourth quarter was a tale of 3-pointers and free throws. Crouch and J. Satterly were joined by Carissa Curtis from beyond the arc, while FHU’s consistend free throw shooting helped FHU to ride out the 77-53 victory.
Of their 30 made shots, the Lady Lions dished out 18 assists in the victory while also out-rebounding the Bearcats 43-28.
Jenna Satterly’s 26 points led all scorers while Ally Weathers had 14 points and 13 rebounds to earn the double-double. Rachel Satterly added 13 points with Lilly Kee chipping in with 10. Weathers also led FHU with six helpers.
