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There really is no place like home and that was especially true for the Lee women's basketball team as it returned home from a four-game road trip to roll past Mississippi College, 74-53 on Thursday evening in Walker Arena.

The Lady Flames (15-8, 12-8) were led by freshman Emileigh Swafford who scored 24 points and grabbed six boards in the victory. Shelby Brown added 17 points and eight rebounds as Lee outscored the Lady Choctaws (8-16, 4-16) 38-24 in the paint and won the rebounding battle by a commanding 45-28 margin.

A big addition to the lineup was the return of freshman forward Carrie Cheeks who had missed the previous four games with a concussion. "It was good to have Carrie back. That takes a lot of pressure off Shelby," said head coach Marty Rowe.

Cheeks scored six points and had five rebounds in her return to the court. Erin Walsh hit a pair of treys and finished with 14 points while senior point guard Alex Swope got the offense going with a game-high six assists.

The Lady Flames limited Mississippi College to just eight field goals and 32 percent shooting in the opening half as they raced out to a 42-23 advantage. The Lady Choctaws would close the gap in the second half but never seriously threatened Lee.

"We got off to a real strong start and went into a little lull during the second half," said Rowe. "We were glad to be able to use all of our players and that should help us on Saturday against Delta State."

Mississippi College was led by Ashley Minor who scored 18 points and converted 9-of-10 from the free throw line. AnnMarie Harris and Kristen Sampson tallied 11 markers each to round out the double-figure scoring for the Lady Choctaws.

Lee shot 43 percent (27-of-63) from the field and hit seven 3-pointers. The Lady Flames were very efficient from the charity stripe as they cashed in 13-of-14. The visitors hit just 17-of-50 (34 percent) from the field and went 3-of-12 (25 percent) from beyond the arc.

Thursday's victory was extra special as it marked the 300^th win for Rowe as head coach of the Lee women's basketball team. The 11-year veteran reflected on the accomplishment, "It doesn't seem like I have been here 11 years. I've been blessed with an outstanding staff and a lot of really good players along the way."

A packed house saw the Lee coach achieve the milestone victory. Despite single-digit temperatures in Cleveland fans flooded Walker Arena and received free t-shirts for the special "black out" game. The spectators were treated to a fantastic show from the Gym-Masters as a part of the halftime festivities during the men's game.

The Lady Flames will get back to work on Saturday when they host Delta State at 2 p.m. The Lady Statesmen are currently tied for second in the GSC with a 14-6 record and are 16-8 overall after defeating Shorter, 47-42 on Thursday.