VALDOSTA, Georgia – Lee women's basketball loss to Valdosta State University on Thursday evening at The Complex will be remembered as one that slipped right through their fingertips. As a result, the Blazers improved to 20-4 overall and 15-2 in GSC play. The Lady Flames are 19-5 and 12-4.
Lee had taken a 51-50 lead with 15 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws by Haley Schubert and appeared to be on their way to victory when the Blazers turned the basketball over. The Lady Flames took a timeout and advanced the basketball to their side of half-court.
However, with 10 seconds remaining, the Blazers' Kwajelin Farrar stole the basketball and her pass to Tamiya Francis resulted in a fast-break layup to give Valdosta State the heartbreaking 52-51 victory.
"Our team fought their hearts out and made some great plays down the stretch," moaned Lee head coach Marty Rowe after the loss. As many coaches do, Rowe took some blame for the defeat saying, "I made a really bad call on the last play and let the group down."
However, the veteran coach could not shoot the basketball or pass it for his club. They shot only 38% for the game, making 18-of-48 shots and 9-of-29 triples. They also turned the basketball over 21 times. Lee struggled from the charity stripe where they have been excellent all season, making only 6-of-11 attempts.
The low-scoring affair saw the Lady Flames lead 8-7 at the end of the first quarter, but the Blazers rebounded to take a 19-17 lead at the half. Each team warmed up a bit in the second stanza and Valdosta continued to lead 35-32 at the end of the third period. The hotly contested battle continued in the final frame as the Lady Flames outscored the host team 19-17 but it wasn't enough.
Morgan Carbaugh helped keep her club in the battle the entire night by knocking down four 3-pointers and finishing with 16 points. She also had a pair of steals. Schubert battled foul problems and was held to eight points but did have seven assists and six rebounds. Halle Hughes joined Schubert with eight points and also pulled down six rebounds. Hannah Garrett led Lee with seven boards as the Lady Flames battled the taller Blazers to an even 38-38 on the glass. Micah Black had a couple of three-balls for Lee.
Valdosta was led by Farrar with 16 points. The Blazers were awarded 21 free throws and Farrar converted six. Taylor Searcey countered with 14 points and led her team with eight rebounds. Francis followed with 14 points and six boards. The Blazers shot 36% from the field but were held to just 1-of-15 from beyond the arc and made 11-of-21 freebies.
The Lady Flames will have only one day to travel on down to Pensacola, Florida and get ready for another key GSC battle with the University of West Florida on Saturday afternoon. The first tip is slated for 3 p.m.
