Freshman Julia Duncan tallied 19 points and sophomore Haley Schubert followed with 16 in leading the Lee women's basketball team to a 72-53 road victory at Shorter University on Wednesday evening. The Lady Flames improved to 2-0 and expect to face a stronger challenge at Valdosta State on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
"Any win on the road in the GSC is important," said Lee coach Marty Rowe after the victory. "I'm not sure we played to the high expectation level we have for our teams but give Shorter credit they're much improved and competed hard for 40 minutes.
We will need much room for improvement and growth with this team, and we are looking forward to traveling to Valdosta this weekend."
The Lady Flames grabbed the lead with just over two minutes gone in the opening quarter and never trailed. Lee led 19-14 at the end of the first quarter and 32-22 at halftime. The lead stretched to 56-28 in the third quarter before the Hawks rallied back in the final frame.
For the game, the Lady Flames shot 39% from the field but struggled from 3-point range. On the other hand, the Lee defense held Shorter to only 25% shooting from the field. The Lady Flames converted 16-of-23 free throws and Shorter converted 18-of-25.
The Lady Flames out-rebounded the Hawks 43-40. For the second straight game, Halle Hughes grabbed nine boards in the victory. Schubert and Cam Grant pulled down six apiece and Maddie Long five.