Playing under the new four quarter system seemed to be no deterrent for coach Marty Rowe and his Lee women's basketball team as they impressed the annual Homecoming crowd with a 70-51 exhibition contest win over Maryville College on Saturday afternoon in Walker Arena.
Led by freshman point guard Haris Price, the Lady Flames got off to a slow start in the first quarter and then overwhelmed the Lady Scots with a 29-point effort in the second 10 minutes. Rowe was not overly excited with his teams play in the final two quarters but he's ready to move to a closed scrimmage with the 25th ranked UTC Lady Mocs on Sunday afternoon.
Price, a 5-foot-2 first-year player from Gatlinburg Pittman High School finished the contest with 17 points and nine assists.
She made 6-of-8 shots from the field and 2-of-3 attempts from behind the arc. However, high-point honors went to sophomore Erin Walsh. She was 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range in finishing with 18 points and three rebounds. Sophomore Carrie Cheeks was the only other Lady Flame in double-figure scoring. She finished with 10 points.
While Price and Walsh were grabbing a big part of the spotlight, senior Christina Johnson was not about to be denied. She claimed 15 rebounds and scored six points. Freshman Anna Woodford added five points, two rebounds and three assists.
The Lady Scots had only one player in double-figures against the tough Lee defense. Mindy Brackins had 16 points and Jordan Ballard followed with nine points and five rebounds. Maryville only shot 27 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range. They also struggled at the line, converting 15-of-26 attempts.
The Lady Flames shot 52 percent from the field in the opening half but slipped to 31 percent in the second and finished with a 41 percent mark from the field. They made 9-of-26 treys (35 percent) and also had a few problems at the line, converting 15-of-24.
"We still have a lot of work to do," said coach Rowe. "I was really pleased with most of what we did in the first two quarters but I was disappointed with the way we played, especially in the third quarter. We have a lot of people who still have some growing to do and we are going to get a lot better. I was pleased with the play of Haris (Price). We recruited her for the past two years and knew she would be ready to step in and take over the point guard position. She's small but can do a lot of things for our basketball team."
After the scrimmage against the Lady Mocs on Sunday, Lee will board a plane and head for Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. on Wednesday. They will be pitted against Barry College (Fla.) on Friday at 2:30 and will come back and face one of the top Division II teams in the country in Nova Southeastern on Saturday at 8 p.m.