Led by the second-half scoring by senior guard Abby Bertram, fifth-ranked Lee outscored visiting Christian Brothers University 42-31 in the second half and went onto a 69-56 victory over the Bucs inside Walker Arena on Saturday afternoon. Bertram exploded in the second stanza and finished the afternoon with 18 points and six rebounds.
The win improved the Lady Flames to 4-1 in Gulf South Conference play and they enter the holiday break with a 12-1 record. Christian Brothers falls to 1-4, 2-7. Lee will return to action on Jan. 4 and will be hosting Union University in a GSC showdown.
Sophomore guard Haley Schubert was the only other Lady Flame in double figures. She tallied 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Lee out-rebounded the visitors 40-36. Nicky Widenski continued to play well and almost produced a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. She also recorded five steals. Taylor Boggess had a pair of 3-pointers and totaled eight points. She also had five rebounds and three steals. Ten Lady Flames played and nine scored.
Brynne Lytle and Taylor Williams kept the Bucs in the contest. Lytle had a double-double, 26 points and 10 rebounds while Williams canned four shots from beyond the arc and had 16 points. The pair combined for 42 of Christian Brothers' 56 points.
The Lady Flames led 18-12 at the first stop but only scored nine points in the second stanza and led 27-25 at the break. Lee coach Marty Rowe was disappointed with the play of his team in the second period but after the break his club responded to a few adjustments.
"This was a good win for us. Christian Brothers played awfully well. Give them credit for making it very tough for us," said Coach Rowe. "I'm very proud of the way we fought hard down the stretch and made the plays we needed to win."
Lee shot 43 percent from the field (26-of-61). The Lady Flames struggled from 3-point range, especially in the first half and finished by making 17-23 (30.4 percent). They went to the line 15 times and sank 10. The Lee defense held the Bucs to 35 percent from the field and just 26 percent (5-of-19) from behind the arc. They also converted 11-of-16 charity tosses. Big turning points in the game, were the Lady Flames outscoring the visitors 34-20 in points in the paint and they had 28 points off the bench to just two for CBU.
"We are looking forward to the break and ready to get back at it in January," noted Coach Rowe as he wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a great start to the New Year. After the Union game, the Lady Flames will go on the road and face the University of West Georgia on Jan 9.
