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In what always proves to be a defensive struggle the Lee women's basketball team secured its seventh win in a row outlasting a physical Delta State squad, 55-46 on Saturday afternoon inside Walker Arena.

A stingy Lee defense limited the Lady Statesmen to just 29 percent shooting from the floor and 13 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Delta State returned the favor forcing the Lady Flames into 21 turnovers to keep the game close throughout.

Sophomore Anna Woodford provided a spark off the bench for coach Marty Rowe and the Lady Flames as she was a perfect 4 for 4 from the field with two triples to account for 11 points. Freshman guard Abby Bertram led the way with game highs in points (14) and rebounds (9).

After being upset with the amount of production off the bench on Thursday coach Rowe was pleased with their production against Delta State. Lee outscored the Lady Statesmen 21-8 off the bench.

"We got some humungous minutes out of our bench with Anna, Shelby (Brown) and Haley (Cornellison) today," said Rowe. "This was the best game we've seen from Anna and we really need her production."

The Lady Flames started out of the gate slowly scoring their first points of the game with 4:36 left in the first period. Lee would end the quarter however on a 9-3 run and outscored Delta State 17-6 in the second period to take a double-digit lead into the locker room.

"It took us a little bit of time to adjust to their physical style of defense but once we settled down and started reversing the ball good things started to happen, said Rowe.  "I thought our defense really provided us a lift when we were struggling offensively."

The Lady Statesmen fought back into the battle in the second half and cut the deficit to two at 37-35 with 6:17 left in the game. From there however it was all Lady Flames as Woodford and Brown struck for six quick points to help thrust Lee into a 20-9 run to close out the contest.

Delta State was paced by Alondrea Rush with 13 points and five rebounds while Aspriona Gilbert added 11 points down low and had six boards.

The Lady Flames finished the contest at 47.5 percent shooting from the floor while hitting 5 of 14 from 3-point distance. The two clubs battled down low with Lee holding a 33-29 edge on the glass.

The low scoring affair should come as no surprise. In six previous contests with the Lady Statesmen the Lady Flames were held to an average of just 56.6 points per game. Lee moves to 4-3 in the all-time series.

The victory propels Lee to 8-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 start in Gulf South Conference play. Delta State falls to 3-5 and 0-3 in league action.

"I felt like we took a step forward today as a team," noted Rowe.  "It was a grind it out kind of game and knowing how tough they are and how well they are coached I was really proud of how we finished the game."

The Lady Flames will now take two weeks off for the Christmas break before heading on the road on New Year's Eve to test West Georgia at 2 p.m. Lee returns to Walker Arena on Saturday, Jan. 7 with a visit from Valdosta State.