After going 6-0 in preconference action and being ranked No.2 in the College Sports Communicators South Region Poll and No. 13 nationally in the CSC NCAA DII poll, the Lee University women’s basketball team will open Gulf South Conference play on the road at the University of Montevallo on Thursday (6:30 EST) and move on down to face Auburn University at Montgomery on Saturday (3:00 EST).
Montevallo has faced a tough schedule and stands at 2-3 with South Region defeats to No. 1 ranked Embry-Riddle and No.
3 ranked Nova Southeastern. The third loss came to Spring Hill (Ala.) while the wins were against former GSC member Shorter and University of Tennessee-Southern.
The Lady Flames opened the season with key wins in Florida over Rollins and host Florida Southern. Coach Rowe’s club continued the road adventures with an impressive win at Emmanuel University and began play inside Walker Arena with three victories.
Graduate student Mallory Hampton is off to another good start averaging 18 ppg and shooting well over 59% overall and from 3-point range. Senior Haylee Johnson tallies 10 ppg and has dished off a team-leading 27 assists. Senior Anna Muhonen scores 9.3 ppg while Addison Smith leads a balanced team in rebounding 5.8 per start. Nine Lady Flames are averaging double-figure minutes of playing time.
The Falcons feature a balanced scoring attack. Jordan Gillies is the leader in scoring (11.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg). Isabel Grimes follows at (10.6 ppg). Lia Edwards was off to a solid start for the Falcons but has not played in the last two games after averaging 11 points in three contests.
The Warhawks of AUM have a new coach in Ashlee’ Phillips. Her club is off to 2-3 start and like Montevallo lost to the Florida powers in Embry-Riddle and Nova Southeastern. The other loss was to Lincoln (Missouri). The wins are over Lander (S.C.) and Spring Hill (Ala.).
Much like the Montevallo team, the Warhawks have played without one of the GSC’s better players, Allasha Dudley since the third game. She was averaging 16 ppg in those three outings. Samya Brooks is averaging 13.2 ppg while Danielle Luckey is cleaning the glass to the tune of 9.4 rpg.
Both games will video stream on FloCollege, and fans can listen on the Lee Flames Sports Radio Network. Thursday's game will be on ESPN Cleveland 101.3 and Saturday's game will be on WCLE 99.1.
The Lee men are coming off a final preconference road victory over Claflin University (SC) and will open Gulf South Conference play on Thursday (8:30 EST) at the University of Montevallo and move on down to face Auburn University at Montgomery on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 (EST).
The unbeaten 4-0 Flames will test a Montevallo club with a 4-2 mark. The Falcons traveled to Lakeland, Fla. for the GSC/SSC Crossover and defeated Barry before losing to Nova Southeastern. The other loss came to Cumberland University (Tenn.) while wins were against Spring Hill (Ala.), Point University (Ga.) and Carolina Christian.
The Flames racked up impressive home wins over the University of Tennessee Southern, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Lane College before Giancarlo Valdez scored the game-winning layup with 1.9 seconds remaining to give Lee a 74-72 win over Claflin in Orangeburg, SC.
The balanced Lee scoring attack is led by Willie Walton. He usually comes off the bench to give the Flames extra spark and averages 15.7 ppg. Valdez posts a 13.8 ppg mark and directs the team with 22 assists. Noah Boler-Kyle stands at 12.5 ppg and 5 rpg. Marion Smith rounds out the double-figure scoring, 11.3 ppg.
The Falcons feature a high-scoring offense, over 85 points per game. Like the Flames, four players score in double figures, led by Jaylen Curry (16.7 ppg). Brandon Fussell is right behind (16.2 ppg.) and Camden Andrews scores at a 14 ppg pace. Jay Gillispie is called on to clean up the glass, averaging a team-leading 5.8 rpg.
Auburn Montgomery is under the direction of veteran coach Michael Cheaney who is in his 11th season with the Warhawks. In a pair of Crossover games, AUM lost to Florida Southern and defeated St. Leo. They won over Georgia College, lost to Lincoln (Mo.) and improved to 3-2 on the season with a win over Miles College.
AUM’s Malachi Rhodes has proven to be a load for opponents this season. The 6-foot-8 graduate student averages 13.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg. Trent Coleman is another top board man (9.3 rpg). Between Rhodes and Coleman the Warhawks depend on the pair for an average of over 22 of their 35 rebounds per game.
Both games will video stream on FloCollege, and fans can listen on the Lee Flames Sports Radio Network. Thursday's game will be on ESPN Cleveland 101.3 and Saturday's game will be on WCLE 99.1.