The Lions defeated UAH easily on Saturday (89-68) to add another win in the books with their already stellar record.

Many of the women stepped up at Spragins Hall and made big, key plays and baskets which assured a smooth victory. Niala Harris led scoring with 23 points and 16 rebounds, while Sequoyah Cliff had 17 points and eight rebounds, Sanqueeta Meardith had 14 points and Jazmine Saxton added 11.

“We just have to come to play and play our game,” said head coach Terry Fowler. “We have to continue to make these big-time plays because these are the plays that champions make.”

Senior point guard Kierra McCleary was proud of the opportunities the players took in the paint: UNA had 44 points in the paint to UAH’s 14. The bench points also made a pivotal difference in the game; UNA had 28 to UAH’s two.

“The Chargers left the paint open and we took advantage of it,” said McCleary. “We definitely did not want to lose that game of all games, and just wanted to close out the regular season right.”

The UNA women will play Harding Thursday night, Feb. 4, in the first round of conference play at Southaven, Miss., and it will be a huge game of revenge for them as Harding was the last team to beat them back on Jan. 5 (65-59).

“It’s always a battle with Harding, and they are going to give us their all,” said McCleary. “At the same time, I think we are a changed team and we know what we need to do to get the job done.”

McCleary said that it’s definitely going to be a game of defense, and the team will have to be helping each other out all night long on the defensive end. She said they have to play as strong as they know that they can.

“We’re going to go into the game with a positive attitude and do what we need to do,” said McCleary.