PENSACOLA, Florida – The Lee women's basketball team outscored host University of West Florida 20-4 in the second quarter and held a 37-19 lead at the break in posting a 65-54 victory over the Lady Argonauts on Friday evening.
West Florida kept the margin at 18 points by matching Lee's 20-point effort after the third frame. The Lady Argonauts tried to climb back in the contest by outscoring the Lady Flames 15-8 in the final 10 minutes.
"We did a lot of good things tonight but we have to continue to figure out how to close games out," explained Lee head coach Marty Rowe after his club improved to 6-2 and West Florida dropped to 2-4.
"Coach (Stephanie) Yelton did a great job making adjustments and we will need to be ready to go again tomorrow but this is a good win by our team," Rowe said in closing.
Junior Haley Schubert played 38 minutes, made 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 triples in finishing with a team-leading 19 points. She also had seven rebounds and three assists. Freshman Julia Duncan was impressive with 6-of-13 field goal attempts and 4-of-8 triples in a solid 17-point performance.
Junior Camryn Grant was the other Lady Flame in double figures. She totaled 10 points. Transfer Hannah Garrett had a team-leading eight rebounds. Maddie Long collected five boards and Morgan Carbaugh came off the bench to capture four rebounds but Lee lost the board battle to the Lady Argonauts 40-38.
Gabby Brown hit three 3-pointers and paced West Florida with 14 points. She also had nine rebounds. Danielle Norquest recorded a double-double, 11 points and 12 rebounds while Charlotte Elmore was the only other Lady Argo in double figures with 11.
Lee's defense held the home club to only 28% from the field but West Florida improved from behind the arc, shooting 30.8%. They were awarded nine free throws and made six.
Overall, from the field it was not one of Lee's better shooting nights, 38% (25-of-55). However, the Lady Flames knocked down 11-of-24 deep balls (50%). There were very few fouls called and Lee managed to make 4-of-6.
The two teams will square off again on Saturday afternoon (4 p.m.). In other play on the East side of the GSC, Valdosta continues to hold a one-game lead over the Lady Flames by easily defeating Shorter.
