Senior Toni Brewer poured in 25 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead visiting West Florida to a key 76-70 Gulf South Conference victory over Lee inside Walker Arena on Monday evening.
Brewer was not alone, Belle Bistrow garnered 19 points and Halee Nieman totaled 18 to lead the well-balanced Argonauts scoring attack. West Florida shot 47 percent from the field and made just enough triples (7-of-19) to keep the Lady Flames honest. They sealed the victory by making 25-of-29 free throws while Lee was awarded just 14 charity tosses and converted eight.
"We just weren't focused like we were on Saturday against Valdosta State.
It was that way in this morning shoot-around and the same entering the game tonight," commented head coach Marty Rowe as the Lady Flames slipped to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in league play. West Florida improved to 9-2 and 3-1.
"I don't know if our girls were tired or not," added Rowe. "I do know we can use the eight days of rest before we head to Trevecca on Dec. 31 and then conference road games at Union and Christian Brothers."
The opening period was nip-and-tuck with the Argonauts holding a 20-18 advantage but the Lady Flames fought back and were on top 36-33 at the halftime break. The third period was a deciding factor. West Florida outscored the Lady Flames 16-6 and took 49-42 lead into the final frame.
Haley Schubert and Abby Bertram paced the Lee scoring with 14 points apiece. Lindsey Roddy added 12 and Taylor Boggess chipped in with 10. The Lady Flames lost the rebounding battle 38-31 with Becca Cheeks pulling down five. Lee shot 42 percent from the field but canned only 6-of-29 3-point attempts (21 percent).
"I saw some good things in the loss tonight. Halle Hughes played well and we scored well in the paint (32-24) and our bench outscored West Florida 26-5," noted Rowe.