CLINTON, Miss. – The Lee University Women's Basketball team ran its win streak to eight with a 62-52 win at Gulf South Conference (GSC) opponent Mississippi College. The Lady Flames, ranked No. 22 in the D2SIDA poll, improved to 16-3 overall and remain tied for first at 10-1 in conference play. The Choctaws fell to 2-8 in the GSC and 6-10 total.
Becca Cheeks led the Lady Flames in scoring with 12 points. She was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. Abby Bertram and Taylor Boggess were the only other Lee players in double-figures. Bertram had 11 points, while Boggess contributed 10.
Haley Schubert supplied nine points with Lindsey Roddy throwing in eight more. Rounding out the Lee scoring were Kayla Tillie, Nicky Widenski and Tori Lentz. Tillie had six, Widenski tallied five and Lentz made one free throw.
Cheeks also led the Lady Flames with six rebounds. Bertram recorded a game-leading seven assists to go with five rebounds.
Mississippi College received 12 points from Lauran Sheriff and 10 points from Zan Ratcliffe. Coco Hobson grabbed a game-high seven rebounds to go along with seven points.
Lee jumped out to a 20-14 lead after the opening 10 minutes and led 37-27 at halftime. The Choctaws fought back in the third period to take a two-point lead with 52 seconds left. A jumper and free throw by Roddy and a three-pointer at the horn by Schubert pushed Lee back in front 48-44 entering the fourth period. The Lady Flames outscored MC 14-8 in the final 10 minutes to supply the final margin.
"Haley made a big 3-pointer for us after we were able to secure an offensive rebound at the end of the third quarter and that really seemed to shift the momentum for us," said Associate Head Coach Jan Spangler.
The Lady Flames were 22-for-50 (.440) from the field and made 8-of-17 (.471) from behind the arc. The Choctaws connected on 18-of-54 (.333) shots, including 4-of-14 (.286) from distance. The free throws were nearly equal with Lee making 10-of-16 (.625) and MC converting 12-of-14 (.857) opportunities.
Mississippi College garnered a slim 34-33 advantage on the boards. The hosts turned 10 offensive rebounds into 10 second-chance points, while Lee cashed in eight offensive boards for six second-chance markers.
"We got into some foul trouble early, so we need to do a better a job of defending without fouling. I thought at times we didn't handle their pressure well. We turned the ball over 20 times and got way to loose with it," added Spangler. "At times I thought we gambled defensively, but when we were able to settle down and get back to our principles things started to go our way."
The Lady Flames remain on the road to take on Delta State on Saturday. The Lady Statesmen will enter the game with a 6-5 conference mark after defeating Alabama Huntsville 71-68 at home Thursday evening.
"Delta State will be another physical battle. They are the best defensive team in the league. They like to pressure the ball early and often and wear you down. We will certainly need to take care of the basketball and be ready to match their intensity on Saturday," concluded Spangler.
