After falling behind 18-13 at the end of the first period, the Lee women’s basketball team regrouped and outscored visiting Montevallo 38-19 over the next two frames in posting a convincing 77-59 GSC victory on Saturday afternoon inside Walker Arena.
The Lady Flames improved to 5-2 in conference play and 12-3 overall. The Falcons dropped to 3-7, 7-11. Lee hits the road for three tough GSC contests beginning next Thursday at Mississippi College followed by a Saturday game at Delta State.
After a break, they will close out the road trip at West Alabama on Jan. 29.
“It was just great to be back on the court again,” said associate head coach Jan Spangler, who was filling in for head coach Marty Rowe sidelined with COVID protocol. “Teams that handle stops and starts during this stretch will be the most successful. For us to be able to win today after a two-week layoff says a lot about our team. Montevallo is a really talented team and this was a good win for our team for many reasons.”
Senior Haley Schubert led the way with a 29-point performance. She made 10-of-17 shots from the field and was 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Schubert grabbed five rebounds, dished off four assists and came away with three steals. Halle Hughes followed with 11 points and seven rebounds plus adding three assists. Julia Duncan countered with 10 points and five rebounds. Cam Grant paced the team with nine rebounds and seven points. All totaled, Lee won the rebounding battle 46-39.
Savannah Lee came off the bench to pace the Falcons with 16 points. The Lady Flames held Marisa Snodgrass to 13 points after the Falcons got off to a quick start in the first quarter. McCarley Northway followed with 11 points.
The Lee defense held the visitors to 25% shooting from the field. The Falcons were awarded 35 free throws but made just 23. On the other hand, Lee marched to the charity stripe 18 times and converted 17. The Lady Flames started cold but finished the afternoon shooting 43% from the field (26-of-61). Lee had a 22-8 margin off turnovers and tallied a 28-16 margin in points in the paint.