Volunteer State News

With the veteran players leading the way, the Lee women's basketball team built up a 32-point lead in the final period and allowed reserves to play the rest of the way in a convincing 78-58 victory over Mississippi College inside Walker Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Lady Flames improved to 9-0 in GSC play and 10-2 overall. The Choctaws slipped to 2-8, 3-10. 

"It was a great job by our team today of being ready to play from the opening tip. We competed on both sides of the ball and got production from multiple people," praised Lee Coach Marty Rowe. "It is a great way to finish off the first semester. 

"We took care of the ball and executed at a high level, only committing five turnovers. When we do that, we have a chance to be very good," Coach Rowe added. "We will take some time off for Christmas and come back on Dec. 27 (to begin practice). It will be a great time for us to enjoy our families and get refreshed for the remaining part of our schedule." 

An explosive third period pushed Lee's lead to 64-37 and helped keep the undefeated conference record intact. While the Lady Flames had 15 assists overall, they turned the basketball over just five times, as pointed out by Coach Rowe. They also shot 48% for the game (28-of-59) and made 9-of-22 3-pointers (41%). For the second straight game Lee went to the charity stripe 14 times and canned 13. The only negative point was rebounding, where they lost the battle 37-27. 

No Lee player registered over 28 minutes of playing time and all 12 players that were suited out played over five minutes. Haley Schubert had 19 points and five assists to lead the victory. Macy Woodworth had a career high 14 points. She made 6-of-7 shots overall and finished with five rebounds. Hannah Garrett joined in with 13 points, stepping out to nail 3-of-6 triples and grabbed five boards in 16 minutes of game time.  

Mallory Hampton gave the Lady Flames four players in double figures with 11 points. She had five assists and five rebounds. Haylee Johnson drew praise from Coach Rowe for her play on defense and offense. She hit a 3-pointer, a pair of free throws and had five points.  

Lee scored 26 points off Choctaws turnovers and outscored the visitors 38-6 in points in the paint. Hampton and Woodworth each had a pair of steals as the Lady Flames picked off six Mississippi College passes in the contest. 

Freshman Brett Gardner was 4-of-8 from 3-point range and also was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in finishing with 18 points. Overall, the Choctaws hit 19-of-21 freebies. Ava Knoedl added nine points while Keller Bigham chipped in with six points and led her team with nine rebounds. The Lee defense held the Choctaws to 31% (16-of-52) shooting and 32% (7-of-22) from beyond the arc.

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