BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Lee women's basketball team cut down the nets at the Pete Hanna Center as it took down Valdosta State, 81-73 to win the program's first Gulf South Conference Championship on Sunday afternoon.
Abby Bertram and Haley Schubert provided the 1-2 punch in the back court just like they have all season long with 19 points each. Bertram was named the GSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player and Schubert landed on the All-Tournament team.
After getting crushed on the boards in the first quarter (14-2) the Lady Flames outrebounded the physical Blazers 30-28 in the final three quarters. Bertram led the way with nine boards while Widenski added 12 points and five rebounds and was 8 of 10 from the foul line.
Lee got production from up and down its lineup with eight different players getting into the scorebook and 11 players getting on the floor. Taylor Boggess scored the first six points of the game and ended with 12 points. Becca Cheeks had six points and four boards while Kayla Tillie came in to score five points and grabbed three rebounds.
"This is a special group of players and we played some really good basketball this weekend to come away with our first conference title," said Lee head coach Marty Rowe. "When we got into foul trouble we had players step up like Tori Lentz, Kayla Tillie, Becca Cheeks, Halle Hughes, Jenna Scoggins, Camryn Grant, Anna Woodford. Up and down the lineup we have players that just want to win and give it their all out there even if it's just a minute or two at a time and that's what separates this team."
After a slow start in the first quarter falling behind 17-10 the Lady Flames stormed back in the second. Lee opened up the quarter with a 14-3 run over the first five minutes keyed by six points from junior Abby Bertram.
Lee would end the first half with a 35-27 advantage over the Blazers. The Lady Flames forced Valdosta State into 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action. Lee dished off 15 assists and committed just nine turnovers in the contest.
"This is an incredible feeling to win a championship," said Bertram. "It has been one of our goals since I came to Lee three years ago and to finally accomplish with this group of girls is such a great experience. We just keep fighting and we showed that today after a tough first quarter by coming out with intensity and energy in the second quarter. Give Valdosta State credit they are good team and they play physical but we were able to fight back and once we got going we didn't look back."
The Blazers wouldn't go away quietly as they cut the lead to just one at 66-65 with 2:11 left on a 3-pointer by Shon Kitchens. Widenski answered back however with a 15-footer to jump start an 8-0 run to put the game away.
The Lady Flames overcame early struggles at the line to put the game away late at the charity stripe, shooting 31 of 44 (70.5 percent). Lee hit 21 of 49 (42.9 percent) from the field and knocked down 8 of 20 from the 3-point line (40.0 percent).
Kayla Bonilla finished off a fantastic GSC Tournament for the Blazers as she followed up a 30-point performance in the semifinal win against Union with 22 points. Shon Kitchens added 11 and Crystal Townsend chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds. Bonilla and Townsend also landed spots on the All-Tournament team.
The Blazers connected on 40.4 percent from the field and hit 11of 30 (36.7 percent) from the 3-point line.
The Lady Flames improve to 25-6 on the year. The drops the Blazers to 21-10.
The Lady Flames will head to the NCAA National Tournament for the third straight season. Lee will find out later tonight where and who they will play with the likely host and No. 1 seed in the South Region being Florida Southern from the Sunshine State Conference.
