The win streak will stop at six for the Lee women's basketball team after falling to No. 22 Delta State, 76-50 on Saturday afternoon from Walker Arena.

The matchup of the two top teams in the Gulf South Conference appeared to be living up to its billing in the first half as the Lady Statesmen held a slim 25-22 advantage over the Lady Flames at the halftime break.

The second half belonged to Delta however as it scored 51 points and limited the Lady Flames to just 28.

The Lady Statesmen shot 56 percent from the field in the second half and canned 22 of 24 foul shots (91.7 percent) to extend the lead. Lee was limited to just 32.8 percent shooting for the game and hit only 5 of 25 from 3-point distance (20 percent).

Erin Walsh led the way with 12 points and canned three triples for the Lady Flames. Shelby Brown followed with 11 points and Carrie Cheeks added 10. Christina Johnson battled down low against the physical Lady Statesmen and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Usually dominate on the glass, the Lady Flames were out-rebounded by a 42-32 margin. Coming into the contest Lee ranked seventh in NCAA D2 in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by an average of 11.6 per game.

Lee committed 14 turnovers while forcing Delta State into 11 floor mistakes. The Lady Statesmen made the most of their opportunities, scoring 20 points off turnovers.

"Credit goes to Delta State and coach Roden they were more physical than us and they dictated the pace of play," said head coach Marty Rowe. "We struggled and we ran from them today and I'm very disappointed in our performance."

Delta State's Chelsey Rhodes showed why she leads the conference in scoring (19.5 ppg) as she dropped 28 points on 10 of 24 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds. Becca Ruckes followed with 13 points and eight boards while Anissa Jackson registered eight points.

The loss drops the Lady Flames to 10-4 on the year and 7-2 in league play. The win improves the Lady Statesmen to 11-1 and 8-1 in the GSC. Delta State now sits in sole possession of first place in the conference standings.

In a special moment prior to the game, junior Caroline Smith was named an honorary starter after having her career ended with chronic knee problems. Smith was subbed out just prior to the tip to a standing ovation and shared an embrace with Rowe on the sidelines.

"It was the highlight of the day," said Rowe when asked about Smith. "She's a special person and comes from great family. She's the most popular teammate I've ever coached, everybody revolves around her smile. We hate it for her but she is still going to be around the team and help us and we are glad she will finally be able to get her knees taken care of."

Lee will look to start a new win streak on Monday night as it hosts Mississippi College at 6 p.m.