Abby Bertram was blistering hot in the first quarter, knocking down six 3-pointers in leading the Lee women’s basketball team to their seventh straight win and improving to a 9-1 Gulf South Conference mark and 15-3 overall.
While Coach Marty Rowe was pleased with his team’s 30 points in the opening period, he was happier with the way they came out of the gate in the third quarter. “We took our foot off the gas in the third quarter against Montevallo and we stressed that point to our girls at halftime of today’s game,” said Coach Rowe.
After leading 48-29 at the break, the Lady Flames outscored University of West Alabama 22-9 in the third frame and allowed Rowe to insert reserves in the final quarter and coasted to a 77-50 victory.
Bertram finished the contest with 25 points, making 6-of-10 treys and also led her team in assists with four as the Lady Flames had 19 assists compared to 14 turnovers. For the game, Lee shot 51 percent from the field (28-of-55) and 46 percent from behind the arc (12-of-26).
Coach Rowe was pleased with the fast play of freshman Haley Schubert in the final half. She tallied 11 points and dished off three assists. Nicky Widenski had her share of good moments with nine points, three rebounds and three assists. Kayla Tillie countered with nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Lee coach was pleased with the early start of Taylor Boggess who canned three triples in four attempts and totaled nine points. Foul trouble limited Becca Cheeks to just 11 minutes but she pushed her career over the 1,000 mark with six points and five rebounds. The Lady Flames out-rebounded the visitors 36-34 and Lindsey Roddy paved the way with eight boards.
West Alabama got a double-double from Bria Dent, 14 points and 13 rebounds. Kierra Groce tallied 16 points and J’Nyiah Daniels pitched in with 10 markers.
“We need to carry this momentum into the tough Mississippi trip,” stressed Rowe. “Mississippi College is a big squad that plays a zone defense and we know things will not be easy when we go on down to Delta State. Five of our next six games are on the road. The season is far from being finished.” The Lady Flames face Mississippi College on Thursday and Delta State on Saturday.