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JACKSON, Tenn. – The Lee women's basketball team fell 63-49 to Gulf South Conference frontrunner Union University (Tenn.) in front of a full house of red as the two schools renewed their rivalry for the 29^th time on Thursday evening.

The Sharpshooting Lady Bulldogs hit six triples in the first 20 minutes to help open up a 37-24 advantage over the Lady Flames. While Union was cashing in from deep Lee converted just nine field goals and went 0-for-5 from 3-point distance in the opening half.

The Lady Flames stepped up the defensive effort in the second half limiting the Lady Bulldogs to just 31 percent (10-of-32) shooting from the field and 17 percent shooting (3-of-17) from behind the arc but were unable to cut into the deficit as shots continued to be hard to come for the visitors. Lee finished just 19-of-61 (31 percent) from the field and hit just one 3-pointer.

"There are some teams in this league you can grind it out with and win even when you are not shooting the ball well but Union is not one of those teams," said Lee head coach Marty Rowe. "I thought for the first 30 minutes or so they just had more energy and focus than we did but I like the way we battled down the stretch and didn't worry about what the scoreboard said."

Freshman forward Shelby Brown paced the Lady Flames' attack with 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Brown registered the double-double in just 17 minutes of work due to foul trouble. Freshman Emileigh Swafford added 11 points while Carrie Cheeks had nine markers and six boards.

"Shelby and Carrie did some nice things for us tonight down in the post," noted Rowe. "We just needed to knock down some shots around them on the perimeter and unfortunately we were unable to do that."

The loss snaps a modest two-game road winning streak for Rowe and his Lady Flames. Lee now sits at 10-5 overall and 7-5 in the conference. The win helps Union improve to 14-2 on the year and 10-2 in the GSC.

Both teams played a very clean game as Lee turned the ball over just eight times while Union was guilty of 10 floor mistakes. The home team held a 38-34 advantage on the glass in the contest.

DeAnna Thompson led the way for the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Union's leading scorer Amy Philamlee joined Thompson with a double-double effort as she had 14 points and dished of 12 assists. Emily Sissom and Chelsea Bodiford added nine points each as both players hit three treys.

Lee and Union split the season series as the Lady Flames topped the Lady Bulldogs, 74-66 in Cleveland back on Dec. 6.

"We have so much respect for Union and (head coach) Mark Campbell," added Rowe. "Since we will not compete in the GSC tournament this year we're pulling for them to win it and they'll pull for us in the NCCAA's. They play the game the right way and I'm hoping are younger players are getting a good sense of what makes this rivalry so special."

Lee is now 4-2 following the Christmas break and an even 2-2 on its five-game road trip which concludes on Saturday with a trip to Memphis to square off with Christian Brothers. Tip time is set for 3 p.m.