Coach Marty Rowe picked up his 500th coaching win in a historic venue on Saturday afternoon as his Lady Flames turned back a defensive-minded Delta State squad, 54-42.
The Gulf South Conference victory leaves the Lady Flames at 21-6 overall and more importantly 14-5 in the GSC race. The Lady Flames will continue their road adventures on Thursday, traveling to Rome, Ga. to face another rival in Shorter University.
“I’ve had some great players and outstanding assistants over my coaching career,” said Rowe as he spoke about his 2017-18 team recording the 500th coaching win.
“Wins came a little bit easier when we were a part of NAIA, but it is much tougher after we moved to NCAA Division II and the GSC.”
Senior Erin Walsh stepped to the front to lead the balanced Lee scoring on Saturday afternoon. Walsh made 7-of-14 shots from the field and finished with 19 points. Senior teammate Shelby Brown tallied nine points and grabbed six rebounds, while Lindsey Roddy also recorded nine markers. Maddie Long stepped up to lead the team with eight rebounds as the Lady Flames controlled the boards 42-37 against the rugged Lady Statesmen.
“Our goal is to get better in every game and our defense showed that this afternoon,” remarked Rowe. The Lady Flames held the home club to just 21 percent shooting from the field. They were also able to just convert 2-of-13 shots from behind the arc. The visitors were awarded 28 free throws and made 20, while Lee marched to the charity stripe 13 times and knocked down nine.
In a contest which saw Lee never trail, Takisha Jordan was the leading Lady Statesmen scorer with 13 markers. Alondrea Rush added 11 points.
The low-scoring game saw lee jump out to a 30-17 lead at the half. The margin continued to grow in the third quarter. “I might have pulled the regulars out too early in the final quarter,” noted Rowe. “Our goal is to outscore our opponents in every quarter.”