Box Score DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Using a 19-7 run over the final seven minutes, the 19th ranked Lindsey Wilson College women's basketball team turned an eight-point deficit into a 67-63 win against sixth ranked Freed-Hardeman University on Monday in the Daytona Beach Shootout.
Called for three first half fouls and adding a fourth in the second half, sophomore Ashley Rainey played brilliantly to stay in the game, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for the Blue Raiders. Senior Diondra Anthony added 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 38 minutes of action.
The Lindsey Wilson duo helped slow down the Lion attack that featured Natalie Shumpert who scored a game-high 22 points, including a 3-pointer in the final five seconds that brought her team within two (65-63).
"We went down half way through the second half, but it was back and forth all game," Lindsey Wilson head coach John B. Wethington said. "Sarah Gillis knocked down two big threes down the stretch and we got the job done. We beat a great team."
Holding on to the slim lead with five seconds to play, Rainey stepped to the free-throw line where she hit both attempts to put Lindsey Wilson comfortably ahead by four points (67-63). The sophomore from Bowling Green, Ky., was named to the All-Tournament Team.
"Because of foul trouble, Ashley sat most of the first half, but her defense down the stretch helped us out," Wethington said. "Freed-Hardeman's All-American, Meribeth Boehler, wasn't able to hurt us very badly."
Shumpert's heave with a second on the clock fell short, but wouldn't have erased the lead if it had fallen, giving Lindsey Wilson the win and improving their overall record to 10-3 on the season.
Freed-Hardeman falls to 9-3 after losing its first game since Nov. 23 against Columbia College. The Lions were on a three-game winning streak heading into the matchup with the Blue Raiders.
The game epitomized a back-and-forth battle with neither team holding much of an advantage till late in the second half. At halftime Lindsey Wilson led 31-28 and its largest lead in the half had been just five points.
Freed-Hardeman held a brief lead in the first half at the 10:47 mark, but didn't take the lead again until four minutes into the second half when a jumper by Shumpert put the Lions up 37-36.
After two more lead changes Freed-Hardeman finally got on a roll. It's largest lead of the game was eight points (56-48) with about seven minutes left in the game.
Then the Lindsey Wilson offense started to take the game over.
"I'm not sure who this team is right now, but I like them," Wethington said, referring to his team that had dropped a game on the road to Indiana University Southeast last week.
Freed-Hardeman would score just seven points the rest of the game, with three of them coming on the Shumpert three in the final seconds, meaning for nearly six and a half minutes Lindsey Wilson had held the nation's sixth ranked team to just four points.
In the same stretch the Blue Raiders scored 17 points to regain control of the lead and ultimately put the Lions away when Rainey sank the two free throws.
Both teams shot well from the field with Lindsey Wilson finishing at 48 percent and Freed-Hardeman shooting 45 percent. The Blue Raider knocked down six 3-pointers, while the Lions ended with five.
Rebounding was close too with Lindsey Wilson barely on top in the battle of the boards 33-30.
Freed-Hardeman was Lindsey Wilson's fifth ranked opponent of the season. The Blue Raiders are 3-2 against those teams in the NAIA's top-25.
Lindsey Wilson now heads home for a Holiday break before getting back to action in Mid-South Conference play at 6 p.m. CT on Jan. 6 against the West Virginia Institute of Technology at Biggers Sports Center.