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FLORENCE, Ala. – A furious fourth quarter comeback came up just short for the Lee women's basketball team as it fell to North Alabama, 74-69 on Thursday evening to wrap up a three-game road trip.

After trailing by 20 points heading into the final quarter the Lady Flames used a 21-4 run to storm back into the game, cutting the lead all the way down to three on a jumper by Abby Bertram with just 23 seconds remaining.

North Alabama closed out the contest with late free throws from Keke Gunter and Emma Wallen however to preserve the victory.

The Lady Flames were led by freshman guard Abby Bertram who posted 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the floor. Carrie Cheeks added 11 points and Shelby Brown had 10 points and seven rebounds. 

"We just came out flat and didn't pay attention to detail. They were good in transition and defensively they jumped our ball screens and we talked about that in practice and we didn't respond well," said head coach Marty Rowe. "We didn't compete hard enough in the first half. We went deep into the bench because we aren't going to reward people for not playing hard."

Turnovers proved costly as the Lady Flames turned the ball over 13 times in the first half allowing the Lions to jump out to a 46-30 lead at the intermission. Lee finished the game with 19 turnovers but did force North Alabama into 17 floor mistakes.

KeKe Gunter paced the Lions effort with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Michaela DeKilder joined Gunter with double-double performance of 17 points and 18 rebounds. Wallen added 16 points to round out the double-figure scoring.

"A missed layup and missed box out cost us a chance to win the game late but we just dug ourselves way too big of hole," said Rowe.  "In the fourth quarter we were more aggressive on both ends of the floor. We took care of the ball in the second half and that allowed us to play more zone on the defensive end. We have to learn to compete for 40 minutes, and we have to be steadier throughout the game. I want to see us play with the urgency we played with in the fourth quarter the whole game."

The Lady Flames were limited to 37 percent shooting (23 of 62). The usually proficient 3-point shooting squad hit just 3 of 15 from beyond the arc but did convert 20 of 23 foul shots (87 percent) to help them climb back into the contest. North Alabama shot a similar percentage from the field hitting 40 percent but converted just 4 of 19 triples (21 percent).

"We need to be more aggressive on our ball screens and I need to come up for some ways to get Erin (Walsh) some better looks," added Rowe. The sharpshooting junior has been a target of opposing defenses this year. The Lions held Walsh in check holding her to just eight points.

The Lady Flames' defense limited North Alabama's leading scorer Ivy Walden to just nine points. Walden finished with a game-high nine assists.

Lee held a slight 43-41 advantage on the glass. Both teams pounded the paint with the Lady Flames tallying 32 points close to the basket and the Lions registering 36.

Lee falls to 11-5 and 6-4 in the Gulf South Conference, good enough for a tie for third. North Alabama improves to 13-3 and 7-3 in the GSC. West Florida (8-2) topped Mississippi College to maintain a one-game lead on the second place Lions and Valdosta State. 

The Lady Flames will look to get back in the win column on Saturday as they return home to host Alabama Huntsville. The Chargers fell to Shorter at home on Thursday evening.