History was made on Friday afternoon as the Lee women's basketball team won the program's first NCAA National Tournament game with a thrilling a 66-64 victory over North Alabama in the South Region Quarterfinals.
The Lady Flames held a four-point advantage with just 13 seconds remaining but missed two free throws to keep things interesting in the waning seconds.
The Lions rushed down the court and cut the deficit to 66-64 on an Emma Wallen layup with just four seconds left. Lee then committed an untimely turnover with just two ticks on the clock allowing UNA a last-second opportunity to tie or win.
Sophomore Abby Bertram came up with a huge block on Brittany Panetti's shot but Wallen picked up the deflection and was fouled with 0.4 seconds remaining on the clock.
The all-conference player missed the foul shots however to seal the win for the Lady Flames.
"To be able to win game back in the city of Jackson (the site of several NAIA National Tournaments) in a national tournament environment which has such rich tradition for us is a big moment for our basketball program. This is the first ever national tournament win and we've worked really hard," said an emotional head coach Marty Rowe. "I've got a great group of seniors that have believed in what we're doing for four years and now to have them get the chance to experience this is a big moment for them and for our program."
Rowe's seniors played a big role in the victory. Erin Walsh finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Shelby Brown added 13 points while Cheeks scored 10 and grabbed seven rebounds. Haley Cornellison came off the bench and hit two big triples, including one with 2:59 left in the fourth to give Lee a four-point advantage.
Bertram made it four-players in double-figures for the balanced Lee attack with 11 points and was active defensively with three steals.
"I think we just try and have the mindset as a team that there is going to be highs and lows during the game but we were able to push through together and make some big plays down the stretch," added Brown.
The Lions jumped out to an early 10-point lead in the first quarter before the Lady Flames settled in thanks to six points from Cheeks to spark a 12-4 run to end the opening period. Lee trailed by just two at the half despite committing 12 first half turnovers.
From there it was a classic battle between the two Gulf South Conference rivals with neither team separating themselves by more than six points the rest of the contest. The scrappy Lee defense turned the Lions over 17 times and only had seven giveaways in the second half.
Lee shot 41.5 percent from the field and connected on 7 of 15 from 3-point land. The Lions finished 40 percent the field and converted just 3 of 13 from beyond the arc.
"Our guards did a good job of defending the perimeter and not letting No. 1 (Ivy Wallen) get open. I think we made her work for everything she got and that was a real point of emphasis in practice this week for us," said Walsh.
Panetti led North Alabama with 21 points and hauled in eight rebounds. Wallen finished with 10 points but was limited to just 4 of 11 shooting from the field. Kenysha Coulson added seven points and eight rebounds.
"We wanted to go inside and get the ball to Carrie and Shelby and we did a nice job of that for the most part. We missed some open shots which didn't allow us to get on a big run but we were able to do enough to separate from them in second half and then hold on late," noted Rowe. "I think we have a pretty good balance offensively and our at our best when we are moving the ball inside and then creating open looks on the outside off of that ball movement," said Rowe.
Lee improves to 24-7 on the year while North Alabama's season comes to a close at 24-5.
It will be an all-GSC semifinal as the Lady Flames will now face rival Valdosta State in the South Region Semifinals tomorrow at 6 p.m. The Blazers upset the No. 2-seed Florida Southern, 63-60 in their opening game.