Coach Marty Rowe achieved career victory 400 on Thursday evening as the Lee women's basketball team defeated West Alabama, 55-38 in Gulf South Conference action.
After a six-year stint at Brescia University, Rowe came to Lee in 2004 and has put together a consistent run of success amassing 269 victories to just 56 loses. Rowe's overall record now sits at 400-121.
For most of the first half the Tigers were able to slow down the pace of the game leading to a slim 26-24 halftime lead for the Lady Flames.
The Lee defense completely shutdown the West Alabama offense in the second 20 minutes outscoring the home team 29-14 en route to the 17-point road win.
"To be honest we really didn't play very well." admitted Rowe. "I thought our attitude and effort were lacking tonight. We'll take the win on the road in this league but I care about how we play and we played poorly tonight. They tried to shorten the game against us and we got caught up in their flow and pace."
It was the play of All-American guard Hollie German that helped seal the milestone victory for Rowe. German scored 25 points on 7-of-13 shooting from 3-point distance. As a team the Lady Flames converted just 30.4 percent from the field relying heavily on the senior guard to provide the scoring punch.
The Lee defense limited the Tigers to just 25 percent shooting from the field as the home team made just 13 field goals in the contest and tallied just one 3-point basket. The Lady Flames were guilty of 11 floor mistakes while UWA committed 17. The rebounding was nearly even as Lee held a slim 41-40 advantage.
"We typically outrebound teams by 10 and tonight we managed just one more than them." noted Rowe. "Without Hollie (German) making shots in the first half we would have been in big trouble. Our defensive pressure at times helped us to extend the lead."
Jenna Adams added 11 points to go along with seven rebounds while Karley Miller contributed eight points and seven boards.
Jada Williams had 10 points and dished off four assists for the Tigers. Quintinette Odom scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The victory moves the Lady Flames to 9-4 overall and 5-2 in the GSC. The loss drops West Alabama to 4-10 and just 1-7 in conference play.
"I've had great teams, coaches and administration here at Lee." said Rowe. "I'm certainly thankful for the people that I've had around me and supported me throughout this consistent run we have had."
Rowe will look for career win 401 on Saturday when the Lady Flames remain in Alabama to tangle with Alabama-Huntsville. Tip time is set for 4 p.m. Fans can listen to all the action locally on MIX104.1 FM.