The Lee women’s basketball team started fast and never look back in securing an 83-47 home opening victory over Bresica University on Saturday evening from Walker Arena.
The Lady Flames led from start to finish as they jumped out to a 22-9 first quarter advantage and carried a 40-21 lead at the half. The margin ballooned to 36 thanks to a 43-point second half effort.
Erin Walsh scored 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting from the field but was also very active on the defensive end with four steals. As a team the Lady Flames recorded 13 steals.
Lee dominated in the post outscoring the Bearcats 42-14 thanks in large part to 17 points from junior forward Carrie Cheeks. The Ranger, Ga. native registered a double-double grabbing 14 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Lee held a staggering 63-30 advantage on the glass.
The Lady Flames were guilty of 20 turnovers but did dish out 22 assists as freshmen Taylor Boggess, Abby Bertram and Maddie Long led the way with five each.
Haley Cornellison joined Walsh and Cheeks in double-figures with 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Freshman guard Lindsey Roddy added eight points and Shelby Brown chipped in eight more while pulling down 12 boards.
“We got a chance to play a lot of people and for the most part everyone played with a lot of energy but I was disappointed in how many turnovers we had in the first half,” said head coach Marty Rowe. “We are going to learn from that because when you get sloppy with the ball that tends to ruin the momentum you build up and that caused us to play a little flat at times. I think for the most part we accomplished what we wanted to do.”
Lee shot 41.8 percent from the field and canned 10 triples, six coming in the second half. The Bearcats struggled offensively managing just 26.7 percent shooting in the contest (16 of 60).
Sharpshooting guard Shelbi Samsil found her rhythm in the first half with five treys and finished 6 of 10 from the 3-point line overall to lead Brescia with 20 points. Becca Somers was the only other player in double-figures with 10. Kelsey Kirkpatrick scored seven points and had nine rebounds.
When asked what he’s learned about his young team so far this season Rowe responded, “I’ve learned we are young team and there is going to be ups and downs. I think as we mature and get more comfortable especially after the semester break we will see our young players continue to improve and be more consistent.”
The Lady Flames will enjoy a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday before heading back onto the hardwood at Walker Arena against Fisk University on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m.