Lee turned back several determined runs by LSU-Shreveport and advanced to the second round of the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship by posting a 60-55 victory on Wednesday morning at the Frankfort Civic Center.
Both teams got off to a slow start in the opening half, but the Lady Flames managed to hold a 24-22 advantage at the break. Lee sped out of the gate to open the second half and opened up a 13-point lead with 12:39 remaining only to see the Pilots fight back to tie the game at 50 with less than two minutes remaining.
“Our tougher conference schedule against teams like Southern Poly and Coastal Carolina really helped us at this point,” noted coach Marty Rowe. “We have been in these types of situations before and our girls responded again today.”
German, who finished the contest with 22 points, converted a huge 3-pointer with 1:27 remaining. LSU-Sreveport cut the lead back to one 53-52 on a basket by Christy Willis but German stepped up again and drove for the bucket to put the Lady Flames back in front by three with 52 seconds remaining. Down the stretch, the Lee leader canned 3-of-4 free throws to secure the victory.
“It was a typical early morning national tournament game,” said coach Rowe after the win. “I think we played better in the second half and I expect our girls to relax and perform better the rest of the way. We beat a well-coached Shreveport team to advance.”
German connected on five 3-pointers and added 5-of-6 charity tosses to finish with her game-high 22 points. Adams continued her solid play with another double-double, 16 points and 18 rebounds. Myriah Iles also pulled down 15 rebounds as the Lady Flames dominated the glass 52-35. Rachel Lockhart stepped up with nine points and three assists. She was also a key in defending the Pilots’ top scorer, Sharde Henry (15 points).
“ I don’t know if I have ever seen 87 rebounds in one of our games,” said Rowe as he flashed a smile. “We missed a lot of opportunities to convert easy shots down low inside but that also will improve as we get deeper into the tournament. Myriah was just a little too excited this morning.”
Brooke Hamby also tossed in a pair of treys as the Lady Flames made 58 percent of their 3-point attempts in the second 20 minutes and finished the game with a 38 percent mark, much better than their 32 percent shooting overall.
Katie McCoy followed Henry in scoring by hitting three shots from behind the arc and totaling 12 points. Willis was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and tallied 11 points. Lee improved to 31-2 overall and Shreveport completed the season at 25-6.