CLEVELAND, Tenn. -Visiting Trevecca Nazarene spoiled Lee's official home opener on Tuesday evening by handing the Lady Flames a stunning 67-52 defeat. It was the 26th meeting between the old rivals and the victory by the Trojans ended a six-game winning streak by Lee in the series.
While Trevecca was shooting a solid 44% overall and making 10-of-25 (40%) 3-pointers, the Lady Flames had no answer for the Nashville-based club. The lid was closed on the basket, especially from long range where Lee shot only 13.8% (4-of-29). The struggles continued from the field, 34% (21-of-61). Trevecca hit 13-of-18 free throws to help seal the victory while the Lady Flames only had eight freebies and canned six.
"Trevecca out played us, and credit needs to go to their Coach (Karen) Booker and her team," said Lee Coach Marty Rowe in praising the Trevecca effort. "Every team has a learning curve, and our team is no different. We have to realize that focus and urgency is an absolute necessity for us to be successful."
The Lady Flames were coming off two big conference road wins over Valdosta and West Florida. After jumping ahead midway in the first quarter, things quickly turned in Trevecca's favor and they fought back to tie the game at 16 at the first break.
Led by Keeley Carter and Faith Wilken, Trevecca outscored Lee 16-8 in the second quarter and held a 32-24 lead by halftime. The visitors never trailed again, despite the Lady Flames outscoring the Trojans 13-12 in the third period. The fourth period was all Trevecca as the visitors won going away putting 23 big points on the board.
Carter led the Trevecca scoring with 21 points. The point guard made a solid 8-of-10 shots from the field and was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. She also had eight rebounds and five assists. Faith Wilken added 16 points and Lili Wilken pitched in with nine points. Bayleigh Carmichel joined in with eight points.
The Lady Flames got 16 points from Haley Schubert and 11 points from Anna Muhonen. Muhonen and Mia Hurst paced Lee's rebounding effort with seven apiece. The Lady Flames won the battle of the glass 37-34. Hannah Garrett also had six boards in the loss. Lee had 16 turnovers and the Trojans 18.
The loss dropped the Lady Flames to 3-2 on the year while the win improved Trevecca's mark to 3-2. After the Thanksgiving break, both Lee teams will return to action on Monday (Nov.28) when they will host University of Montevallo. The first tip for the Lady Flames is scheduled for 6 p.m.
