The defending Gulf South Conference Champion Young Harris Mountain Lions got off to a hot start and never looked back in handing the Lee women's lacrosse team a 19-6 loss on a sun-filled Wednesday afternoon at the South Quad Field.

The Lady Flames got on the board first with a goal by Shayna Ryan just two minutes into the match. From there however it was all Mountain Lions as they would go on to score 14 straight goals to hold a commanding lead at the intermission.

Lee would punch back however at the start of the second half. The Lady Flames responded with a 4-0 run over the first 10 minutes. Emma Hill started the rally with an unassisted goal two minutes in. Ryan added her second of the match and 18^th goal of the season with 25:27 left. Adriana DeVita got her first score of the year three minutes later and Kaylyn Dillon forced a Young Harris timeout with an off-balance goal to make it 14-5 with 20:04 left.

"We knew against a quality opponent like Young Harris, with their athleticism, that we would need to limit their chances by controlling possession and using the shot clock," said Lee first-year head coach Derrel Martin. "We did a nice job of that at the start of the second half but in the first half we rushed things and turned the ball over too many times. Give Young Harris credit
they made things difficult on us and proved why they are the defending GSC champions."

Young Harris would regain its footing with a 5-0 over the next 10 minutes to keep a comfortable margin. Hill capped off the scoring for Lee with her 19^th goal of the season with 6:42 remaining in the contest.

Anna Luckie, Maddie Peek and Ansley Coles delivered hat tricks for the visitors. Mary Deatrick and Hayley Barrett each had two goals and dished off three assists while Leigh Anne Turner had two goals and two assists.

Rachel Robb earned the win in goal for YHC with seven saves. Abby Sanders tallied six saves in 51:51 minutes of work for the Lady Flames. Camille Davenport worked the final 8:09 in net and had one save.

The Mountain Lions out shot Lee, 33-18 and held a 26-13 advantage in shots on goal. The Lady Flames were guilty of 23 turnovers while forcing Young Harris into 13.

The loss drops the Lady Flames to 3-7 overall and 0-3 in the GSC. Young Harris improves to 6- 4 and 3-1 in league play.

The Lee women's lacrosse team hosted its first annual Vs.Cancer match to raise funds for pediatric cancer. Funds help families affected by pediatric cancer right here in the Chattanooga/Cleveland community.

"We all have someone we know who has been affected by cancer," said Martin. "We were proud to play for something bigger than ourselves today and to do our part to help those in need."

The road won't get any easier for Lee as it welcomes another league perennial power, Alabama Huntsville to town on Saturday. Opening draw is set for 2 p.m.