The Lee women's basketball team led from start to finish in defeating West Alabama, 71-58 on Thursday evening from Walker Arena.
Erin Walsh scored 22 points and canned five triples to pace the Lady Flames. Freshman Abby Bertram showcased a wide array of talents as she had 17 points, dished off seven assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
Freshman guard Lindsey Roddy had 11 points and five rebounds while Carrie Cheeks rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points to go along with eight rebounds.
"Anytime Erin shoots it with confidence it makes it easier for us on the offensive end," said head coach Marty Rowe. "She got into a rhythm early but also was aggressive late and took some shots been turning down lately so that was a good sign for us."Â
The Lee defense limited the Tigers to just 33.3 percent shooting in the game. The Lady Flames shot only 38.7 percent but hit nine 3s and were 14 of 15 from the charity stripe.
"We fought things tonight, give West Alabama credit they are so well coached and we had to battle," added Rowe. "We still get too stagnant after we get too big lead and are a work in progress but I thought we did some good things today and with the injuries we faced we had to have players step up and they did that tonight."
Catherine Taylor led the West Alabama with 14 points while Ariel Wilson tallied eight points and five rebounds.
Lee held a 42-35 edge on the glass and secured 15 offensive rebounds. Both teams committed 18 turnovers but the Lady Flames distributed the ball well with 14 assists compared to just eight for the Tigers.
The Lady Flames improve to 18-7 and are now 13-6 in the Gulf South Conference after winning six of their last seven contests. The loss drops the slumping Tigers to 6-20 overall and 3-16 in league action.
Lee will now gear up for its final regular season home game on Saturday as they look to avenge an earlier season loss to West Georgia. The Lady Flames hold a one-game lead over the Wolves for third place in the conference standings. Tip time for the pivotal matchup is set for 2 p.m.
