Tweet #Flamenation Tweet #ThisYearItCounts

West Alabama used clutch free throws down the stretch to hold off the Lee Lady Flames and claim a 78-71 victory on Thursday evening from Walker Arena.

Erin Walsh led the comeback attempt for the Lady Flames and finished with a game-high 28 points on 8 of 20 shooting from the field. The sophomore guard canned three treys and was a perfect 9 of 9 from the charity stripe.

Shelby Brown added 16 points and nine rebounds while freshman point guard Haris Price chipped in 15 points and dished off five assists.

Ariel Wilson paced the Tigers with 16 points and four assists. Sydney King scored 14 points on 4 of 6 shooting from 3-point distance. Catherine Taylor added 14 points while Chloe Culpepper rounded out the double-figure scoring with 12 markers and eight boards.

West Alabama did most of its damage from behind the arc hitting 9 of 12. Lee hit 7 of 24 from downtown and finished shooting 39.7 percent from the field in the contest. The Tigers shot at a 45.9 percent clip.

"We have to play harder and with more purpose," said head coach Marty Rowe after Thursday's setback to the Tigers. "The better team won tonight, records may not indicate it but they played harder and communicated better than we did."

It appeared as if the Lady Flames were set to repeat the first meeting between the two clubs as they raced out to an 18-11 lead after the first period. Lee claimed a 79-42 victory back in Livingston on Jan. 4. 

This time the narrative would be different however as the Tigers battled back outscoring the Lady Flames 67-53 in the final three periods.

West Alabama held a slight 36-35 advantage on the glass while Lee held a 28-24 edge on points in the paint. The Tigers pesky defense swiped six steals and recorded 11 blocks to help pull the upset victory on the road.

"We are not the type of team we were a couple of weeks ago and other teams are getting better," added Rowe. "That's the great part about our league every night presents a challenge. We really need to find some people who are going to step up and take on a leadership role and take ownership on the court."

Lee falls to 16-7 overall and are now 13-5 in the Gulf South Conference. West Alabama improves to 8-14 on the year and 5-13 in league play.  The Tigers get their first victory over the Lady Flames after dropping the previous five meetings.

The Lady Flames are 6-0 this season following losses and they will look to continue that streak on Saturday afternoon as they host West Georgia at 2 p.m.