HOMEWOOD, Alabama – The Lee women's basketball team settled for a second-place finish in the Gulf South Conference Championship played at Samford University's Pete Hanna Center on Sunday afternoon when they fell to rival Union University, 58-44.
The Lady Flames will now wait to find out who their opponent will be in the upcoming NCAA South Regional Tournament which will likely be played on the campus of Union in Jackson, Tennessee beginning next weekend. The schedule will be released later Sunday evening by the NCAA Division II.
The Lee defense held the high-powered Lady Bulldog offense in check most of the afternoon but could never get their wheels churning in their offense, resulting in their lowest scoring output of the season. Lee trailed 17-9 at the end of the first period and 43-26 at the half.
In the third period, the Lady Flames held the Lady Bulldogs to only 10 points and cut the lead to 11 points on two occasions only to see Union bounce back and own a 53-39 lead after the third frame. Both teams were cold in the final 10 minutes with each squad only putting five markers on the board.
"It's hard to explain," said Coach Marty Rowe after his club dropped to 24-7 overall and Union improved to 26-12 and walked away with another GSC tournament title. "We played so well on Saturday against Valdosta but came out today and wanted to rush everything. Our defense played well but we made too many mistakes and rushed too many shots on the offensive end. We will go back, look at the tapes, and get ready for the Region."
Hannah Garrett earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team after hitting 4-of-7 3-point attempts on Sunday and finishing with 18 points and six rebounds. However, she was the only Lee player in double-figure scoring. Haley Schubert also was named to the All-Tournament Team. She had nine points in the loss to Union and fouled out of the contest late. Cam Grant had seven rebounds and Halle Hughes six boards. Lee lost the rebounding battle 42-34.
Union's Jaelencia Williams was named the tournament's MVP and had another double-double on Sunday, 13 points and 11 rebounds. Ashtyn Baker followed with 11 points and four assists. Samariah Thompson also had 11 points and six rebounds. Sajnique Lucas was held to seven points on Sunday but still was an All-Tournament selection.
The Lady Flames shot only 29% from the floor (14-of-49) but did make 36% from beyond the arc (5-of-14). They struggled from the charity stripe hitting 11-of-18 attempts. Union also had an off-shooting afternoon making just 32% of its shots from the field and 22% from long range. However, the Lady Bulldogs were awarded 20 big freebies and converted 18.
