JACKSON, Tenn. - In its first game against a ranked opponent, the University of Providence showed its youth, shooting poorly and turning the ball over in a 72-44 loss to (3) Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.). UP had 20 turnovers in the game and the team's leading scorer, Stephanie McDonagh was held nearly scoreless in the second half.
 
"That was a really good team that we played, they're number three in the country for a reason. We just we a lot of trouble getting the ball in the basket today," Head Coach Bill Himmelberg said. "We just didn't shoot it as well as we could have and you're not going to win many games scoring 44 points."
 
Senior Stephanie McDonagh was sensational for UP in the first quarter. With the rest of the team struggling, the team's leading scorer put up 10 points in the first 10 minutes of play and had the Lady Argos ahead 12-10 at the start of the second quarter.
 
The rest of the team stayed cold in the second quarter and after another field goal early in the period, McDonagh joined. UP scored just 4 points in the final 10 minutes of the first and gave up 20 creating a deficit the team couldn't overcome.
 
While UP's second quarter shooting percentage explained a lot of the problems, the worst stat may have been the Lady Argo's 8 turnovers in the period and 13 turnovers in the first half.
 
"Those turnovers are just too many," Himmelberg said. "You know, we're still a young time and we're still trying to find our identity at times."
 
Another part of the problem for the Lady Argos was foul trouble for the team's two talented post players. Both freshman starter Parker Esary and transfer junior Tristan Murphy picked up 2 fouls in the first quarter and spent most of the rest of the half on the bench.
 
Those two were able to stay on the court in the second half and helped diversify the Lady Argo offense while the Lions focused on stopping McDonagh. They did that successfully as the senior only scored 2 points the final two quarters. Meanwhile, Esary, Murphy, senior Molly Herron, freshman Kerstyn Pimperton, senior Kallee Wilson, and redshirt-freshman Erin Malcolm each scored all of their points in the second half. Unfortunately, that only totaled 23 points.
 
In the end, McDonagh was still the team's leading scorer with 14 points, led the team with 3 steals, and also was tied for the team lead with 5 rebounds. The next leading scorer was Esary with 8 points, all of which came in the second half.
 
The loss ends UP's undefeated season and brings the team's record to 8-1. Another ranked team will be the Lady Argo's next opponent, facing (22) Cumberland University at 9 a.m. MST in the second day of the Jackson Rotary Classic.