The Lee University Women’s Basketball remained unbeaten in Gulf South Conference play with an 84-37 takedown of Shorter University. The Lady Flames (7-2, 2-0 GSC) were originally scheduled to battle the Lady Hawks (1-7, 0-2 GSC) on December 1, but the game was postponed due to a leak at Shorter’s Winthrop-King Centre and moved to Georgia Highlands College.
The Lady Flames jumped out to a 28-7 lead following the first 10 minutes of action. Lee continued to pour on the offense with at least 17 points in each of the last three periods, while allowing Shorter over nine points in period just once, a 17-14 Lee advantage in the third period.
“We competed hard tonight at both ends and I thought that really showed from the opening tip,” said Lee head coach Marty Rowe.
“We’ve been looking to put together a complete game and tonight I feel like we executed and competed at a high level for most of the game.”
Becca Cheeks led a contingent of three Lee players in double-digit scoring. Cheeks made 7-of-9 shots on her way to a team-high 15 points. Abby Bertram made three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points and Haley Schubert added 10 markers, five steals and three assists to the cause. Cheeks and Bertram tied for the team lead with four assists each.
Lee emptied the bench with 13 Lady Flames seeing action in the game and all but one registering in the scoring category. Camryn Grant tallied eight points and Kayla Tillie had seven. Tori Lentz, Nicky Widenski and Taylor Boggess added six apiece, while Lindsey Roddy and Anna Woodford contributed five each. Halle Hughes and Jenna Scoggins rounded out the scoring with three and two points, respectively.
The Lady Flames were 36-for 61 (.590) from the field and made 7-of-15 (.467) from behind the arc. The Lady Hawks made just 15-of-49 (.306) attempts from the floor and were 3-for-14 (.214) from distance. Lee made 14 trips to the charity stripe, but only converted five. Shorter was 4-for-8 from the free throw line.
Lee forced Shorter into 25 floor mistakes and traded them in for 37 points off turnovers, including 16 fast break points. The Lady Flames were guilty of just 12 turnovers, which the hosts turned into seven points.
“We have to get focused on this weekend because we know that Valdosta State will be a challenge on Saturday,” added Rowe. “We have a history of very competitive games with both VSU and West Florida, so we are excited for the opportunity to challenge them at home before the Christmas Break.”
The Lady Flames face Valdosta State at 2 p.m on Saturday, followed by a visit from West Florida on Monday at 5 p.m.