CLEVELAND, Tenn.-Visiting Union University grabbed a 29-26 lead at the end of the first half and then held on over the next two quarters to hand the Lee women a 62-58 defeat inside Walker Arena on Thursday evening. The win evened the series between the two GSC rivals at one game apiece. The Lady Flames drop to 22-5 overall and 20-3 in GSC play. Union improves to 22-3 and 20-3. Lee will close out the regular season on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they host Christian Brothers.
The Lady Bulldogs took advantage of three long-range shots that went in just before the shot-clock sounded to put nine key points on the board. Overall, Union made 8-of-14 triples while the Lady Flames were able to convert only 4-of-18. Over the entire game, the visitors hit 19-of-43 shots from the field (44%) and they converted 16-of-25 free throws. On the other hand, Lee hit 20-of-53 shots overall (38%). The Lady Flames were awarded 20 freebies and made 14.
Both teams presented problems on the defensive end forcing the opponent into 20 turnovers apiece. The Lady Bulldogs had only nine assists and Lee had 14. In the rebounding department, the Lady Flames held a 36-27 margin. In the long run, it was 3-point shooting that turned the game in Union's favor.
"Tonight is what late February basketball is all about, two good teams going toe-to-toe for 40 minutes," explained Lee coach Marty Rowe after the hard-fought contest. "The margin of error is so small between our two teams and you just have to give Union credit for making a few more plays than we did tonight. We will look forward to learning from this one and try to get back on track Saturday."
Macy Woodworth had a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the Lady Flames. Haley Schubert and Mallory Hampton were both saddled with foul problems. Schubert finished with 17 points while Hampton finished with 10 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
Shanique Lucas canned 3-of-4 triples and finished with 19 points to lead the Union victory. Samariah Thompson followed with 16 points. She canned key free throws down the stretch and finished by making 9-of-14. Bethany Dillard hit a pair of 3s and had 10 points.
