CLINTON, Mississippi – Behind first half 3-point shooting, Lee shot out to a commanding 42-14 lead at the end of the first half and despite a slow start in the third quarter never looked back in a 74-42 victory over host Mississippi College on Thursday evening.
"We got off to a great start on both ends tonight, which is hard to do on the road. I thought we had good energy for most of the game," commented Lee head coach Marty Rowe after the win.
It was the ninth straight win for the surging Lady Flames who improved their overall record to 20-1 and more importantly 12-1 in Gulf South Conference standing. The Lady Choctaws slipped to 8-11, 5-8. Lee will enjoy an open date on Saturday and will return to Walker Arena for four straight games, beginning with a Thursday evening engagement with the University of Montevallo at 6 p.m. "We've got a chance to take a week and really evaluate our team before playing next Thursday," noted Coach Rowe.
Mississippi College had its only lead of the game (2-0). Lindsey Roddy drained three triples in the opening frame and the Lady Flames were on top 20-8. Senior Taylor Boggess nailed three treys in the second quarter and Lee was off to the races.
Lee's scoring came to a snail's pace in the third period (9 points) but 23 markers were recorded in the final 10 minutes. Roddy led the Lady Flames with 17 points and went over the 1000 points mark for her career. The senior also collected four rebounds.
Boggess joined sophomore Haley Schubert with 12 points each. Senior Abby Bertram totaled seven points and pulled down seven boards to lead her club in that department. Senior Nicky Widenski grabbed five caroms. Eleven Lee players dented the scoreboard and the Lady Flames used all 15 players that made the long trip.
The Lady Flames shot 39% from the field and converted 13 shots from beyond the arc. They attempted 18 free throws and canned 11. Lee won the rebounding battle 41-36. Eight different Lee players had at least three rebounds or more, including sophomore Camryn Grant (4), junior Halle Hughes (4), junior Madeline Perrigo (3), Boggess (3) and senior Becca Cheeks (3).
The short-handed Lady Choctaws, playing without two of their starters, shot just 29% from the field but they stepped beyond the arc to convert 4-of-9 triples, while making 12-of-14 freebies.
