MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It will only be recorded in the record books as an exhibition game, but the Lee women's basketball team made history on Thursday night by defeating the University of Memphis, a Division I program and a member of the American Athletic Conference, 52-44. It is the program's first-ever win over a NCAA D1 program.
The Lady Flames trailed 23-17 at the halftime break but regrouped and outscored the taller Lady Tigers 35-21 in the second half. Lee will make quick trip back to campus and get ready for a second exhibition contest against Bryan College in a Homecoming game at noon on Saturday.
"Our girls are really excited about the win," said coach Marty Rowe. "We had a really good practice on Thursday morning and I think that helped set the tone for tonight's game. Our defense started making them miss in the second half and we started playing well on the offensive end, especially making key free throws."
Rowe went on to praise the work of his newcomers. "They did OK, really better than I expected." The veteran coach also singled out the post play of junior Carrie Cheeks. "We have to go back to work on Friday and make sure we are ready for a good Bryan team on Saturday."
Junior Erin Walsh led the Lady Flames balanced scoring with 12 points. Freshman Mattie Long followed with nine markers and seven rebounds. Junior Haley Cornellison added eight points. Junior Shelby Brown was solid with eight points, five rebounds and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Another freshman, Lindsey Roddy, stepped to the front with seven points and five rebounds.
Cheeks, who appears ready for a primetime season, scored only two points but she grabbed six rebounds, blocked three shots and came away with a steal. For the game, the Lady Flames shot 39 percent, making 18-of-46 attempts. The Lee defense held the Lady Tigers to just 28 percent shooting (18-of-64).
Memphis struggled at the free-throw line, converting just 5-of-16. The Lady Flames hit 12-of-18 freebies. If coach Rowe could draw any negative from the performance it was his team's 28 turnovers against the athletic Lady Tigers. Memphis turned the basketball over 21 times and Taylor Williams was their only player in double-figure scoring with 11 points. Brianna Porter pulled down eight rebounds, but the Lady Flames won the battle of the boards 43-39.
