The Lee women's basketball team continued to get solid play off the bench on Thursday evening when they defeated Christian Brothers University 80-63 inside Walker Arena. The Lady Flames improved to 22-5 overall and 15-4 in GSC play.
"We competed hard and fought through foul trouble in the first half," pointed out Lee coach Marty Rowe. "Give Christian Brothers credit for playing hard in the second half and forcing us to play the entire 40 minutes."
Lee zipped out to a 22-5 advantage after one period of play but quickly got into foul trouble. However, with reserves playing a key role, the Lady Flames still put 20 points on the board in the second stanza but allowed 17. The margin stood at 42-22 at the break.
Rowe's quotes came into play in the second 20 minutes. The Lady Bucs played the Lady Flames dead-even in the third period (21-21) and outscored Lee 20-17 in the final frame.
In less than 26 minutes of playing time, Halle Hughes continued to lead Lee with 23 points. She made 8-of-9 shots from the field and 3-of-4 attempts from long range. Hannah Garrett and Haley Schubert followed with nine points apiece. Schubert was saddled with foul problems and played under 15 minutes.
Camryn Grant had eight points and 10 rebounds as the Lady Flames dominated the glass 46-36. Addison Smith came off the bench and grabbed nine boards and scored nine points in just under 19 minutes of playing time. Morgan Carbaugh chipped in with seven points, four rebounds and three assists.
Lee shot 48% from the field (30-of-63). They connected on 7-of-27 3-pointers (26%). Coach Rowe was disappointed with his team's free-throw shooting, 13-of-23 (57%). "We are an 80% free-throw shooting team and we addressed that after the game."
Christian Brothers was led by four players in double figures. Emily Jones had 23 points. Jeremia Montgomery came off the bench and tallied 18. Karlee Bates and Yaya Coleman pitched in with 11 apiece.
"Now we will turn our attention to Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.). We look forward to seeing how much we have grown as a team when we face Union University," remarked Rowe. The Lady Bulldogs defeated the Lady Flames in the first conference game of the year on December 2 and are unbeaten in GSC play.
