Lee’s 72-69 victory over Union University can be best described as a total team effort. The Lady Flames head coach Marty Rowe called on 12 of his players against the Lady Bulldogs on Thursday evening inside Walker Arena.
The win gave the Lady Flames a sweep of the two regular season games and the odds are good that they will likely face off again in conference or region play. Lee improved to 15-3 (GSC) and 21-5 (overall). The loss was only the second of the season for the Lady Bulldogs (17-2, 25-2).
“Right now we are not thinking about tournament play.
“Now we will turn our attention to West Georgia and we will need to be very good on Saturday (2 p.m.),” noted Coach Rowe after the thrilling win. “Tonight was a great game in a great atmosphere. We are excited that we came out on top. We respect Union very much and anytime our two teams meet we expect it to be a battle.”
The battle kept the large crowd on its feet for most of the evening. The Lady Flames got off to a quick start and held a 19-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Union cut the lead to 32-30 at the break before Lee extended the margin to 50-45 after three quarters.
The final period was highlighted by a 3-point bank shot by Becca Cheeks from the top of the key. Cheeks came back from a first-half injury to score all 17 of her points in the final two frames. Lindsey Roddy, one of the smallest players on the floor, fought for 19 points and pulled down nine impressive rebounds. She also added three assist and two steals.
Taylor Boggess followed with 12 points and Haley Schubert battled down the stretch like a champion to tally nine points and garner six rebounds. Coach Rowe gave credit to the rebounding of freshman Camryn Grant. With Cheeks injured and Nicky Widenski in foul trouble, Grant came off the bench to collect nine important rebounds as the Lady Flames won the battle of the boards 37-32.
Abby Bertram, who was honored at halftime of the men’s game for joining the Lady Flames 1,000 point club, was held in check for the majority of the game by the Union defense. She finished with six points but dished off four assists.
The Lady Bulldogs were led by Morgan Martin, whose powerful double-double consisted of 23 points and 15 boards. Jada Smith helped keep Union close with 22 points and Jada Perkins finished with 12 markers. Only six Union players scored.
Lee shot 42 percent from the field, made 9-of-25 triples (36 percent) and canned 13-of-19 free throws. On the other hand, Union marched to the charity stripe 32 times and managed to keep the game close by converting 27. The visitors shot 43 percent from the field and attempted just nine 3-pointers, cashing in on one.