The Lee women's lacrosse team outscored the University of Virginia at Wise, 5-1 in the second half to secure the first win of the 2021 season, 13-10 on a cold Saturday afternoon.

Dariana Blanton continued her torrid start to the season with four goals. Shayna Ryan, Kelsey McGowan and Brittney White added two each. Freshmen  Audrey Dutton and Avery Schenk got their first collegiate goals.

The Cavaliers scored first in the second half with 24:31 left to take a 10-8 lead before the Lady Flames closed the game on a 5-0 run.

"Today was a big win for us since we have such a young team.  We start two seniors and two juniors and that is it, so we are still learning how to win," said Lee head coach Derrel Martin. "Today wasn't our cleanest game as we had way too many turnovers (27) in response to Wise's physical defense.  Many of those turnovers came when we hurried our passes instead of just being patient and using our feet. On offense, our team was impatient early on and we rushed many of our feeds.  We had a great week of practice, and I think our timing was just off early today.  When we slowed the pace down in the second half, we got better looks and scoring opportunities."

Kaleigh Bernard started in goal and worked 24:47 allowing seven goals to go with two saves. Caleigh Smith worked the final 34:52 in net for the Lady Flames and allowed three goals and posted four saves to earn the victory.  Jordan Edwards allowed 13 goals and posted six saves for UVA-Wise.

"Our defense worked hard today and did a good job of picking up the cutters that Wise fed into the 8 meter area.  We were glad to have Senior Kaylyn Dillon back on the field; she does a great job of communicating and holding down the top center of the defense.  Caleigh Smith came in at goal and picked up six saves that were very timely," added Martin.

Lee dominated the draw control, 18-8 thanks to 11 by Brittney White. The evenly matched contest was near identical in the stat box. Both teams took 24 shots, the Lady Flames placed 19 on mark while UVA-Wise had 16. Lee turned it over 27 times compared to Cavaliers 25 while the home team had a 30-29 edge in groundballs.

"Brittney White worked hard to provide us possession on the draw controls.  She picked up 11 and Shayna Ryan got four.  That always gives us a chance against anyone since each draw control gives us more scoring opportunities.  Dariana Blanton had a solid game with four goals and an assist.  Two of our freshmen, Audrey Dutton and Avery Schenk, got the first goals of their careers and we hope that will bolster their confidence," concluded Martin.

The Lady Flames improve to 1-2 on the year and are now 2-1 all-time against UVA-Wise. Lee defeated the Cavaliers, 15-12 on Feb. 28, 2020. UVA-Wise was playing its 2021 opener.

Lee will stay on the road next Saturday to take on Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C. Opening Draw is set for 7 p.m.