The Lee women's lacrosse team closed out a tightly contest on a 5-0 run to remain unbeaten at home as the Lady Flames knocked of the University of Virginia at Wise, 15-12 on a chilly Friday evening at the Lee Soccer Field.
 
Dariana Blanton scored all four of her goals in the second half as the Lady Flames turned a 12-10 deficit with 14:48 remaining into a 3-goal victory after a timeout stopped the Cavaliers momentum.
Neither team held a lead of more than two goals in the back and forth affair until Blanton's final strike with 2:07 left in the contest.
 
Defensively it was freshman keeper Caleigh Smith coming up with 10 saves in the match to help seal the victory. The zone backer defensive unit of Emily Osborne, Bree O'Connor, Abby Fortner and Jaylee Giffin held the Cavaliers scoreless over the last 14 minutes of the game.
 
"The message to the team in the timeout was to relax, maintain possession and take care of the ball," said Lee head coach Derrel Martin. "We had some careless turnovers earlier in the game but we settled in and made plays down the stretch.
 
Shayna Ryan posted three goals to give her a team-leading 13 goals on the season. Ryan weaved through the defensive and scored with just 26 seconds left tie things up at 7-7 going into halftime. Giselle Gonzalez added three scores and had an assist. Freshman Brittney White scored twice and helped Lee control possession with 10 draw controls.
 
"UVA-Wise runs the same zone defense that we do so we practiced it a lot this week and really showed up today and pressured hard and got on the their cutters and it really helped us out a lot," said Osborne, a junior defender from Mentor, Ohio. "I'm excited about this team and the direction we are headed."
 
Caroline Earnshaw paced the Virginia club with four goals and tallied eight draw controls while Katie Allen added three. Jesse French got the offensive going with five assists while adding a score of her own.
Elsa Girardo started in goal and allowed eight goals with five saves in 38:03. Jordan Edwards worked the final 21:57 and was tagged with the loss, allowing seven goals.
 
The Cavaliers held a 26-22 in shots and 22-21 advantage in shots on goal. Lee committed 23 turnovers while forcing UVA-Wise into 21. Both teams were 19 of 23 on clears and attempted eight free position shots.
 
The Lady Flames improve to 3-2 on the year and a perfect 3-0 at home. The Cavaliers suffer their first loss of the season falling to 2-1.
 
Lee will now embark on a three-game road trip beginning with a visit to Tusculum on Wednesday. First draw is set for 4 p.m.