CARROLLTON, Ga - The road in the Gulf South Conference continued to be difficult for the Lee University women's basketball team as it dropped its third straight contest on Monday evening, falling to host University of West Georgia 69-64 in a battle that went down to the wire. 

The Wolves marched to the free-throw line 39 times and nailed 25 in posting their seventh straight victory. On the other hand the Lady Flames were awarded 16 freebies and made 10. West Georgia also took advantage of a flagrant call in the final seconds which sent the home team to the free-throw line for a pair of charity tosses and the important possession of the basketball.  

The loss dropped the Lady Flames to 7-3 in GSC play and 9-5 overall. The Wolves improved to 7-4, 11-4. After the rugged road adventures, Lee returns to Walker Arena on Thursday and will host Christian Brothers in the first game of a doubleheader slated for a 5:30 tip. Saturday's action features a showdown with rival Union beginning at 2 p.m. 

The Lady Flames got off to a slow start in the first period and trailed 9-7 after 10 minutes of play. Both teams heated up in the second frame, scoring 19 points apiece and the Wolves still led 28-26 at the break.  

West Georgia surged to a 10-point lead in the third period before Lee, paced by Mallory Hampton, finally got the offense in high gear and at the end of three periods the Lady Flames led 48-47. The fourth stanza went back and forth before the hectic final minutes gave the Wolves the deciding victory. 

Hampton scored 22 of her 36 points in the second half to pace the Lee scoring. Haley Cameron, in a starting role, finished with 10 points and five rebounds before fouling out. Mia Hurst added seven points and six rebounds while Addison Smith paced the Lady Flames rebounders with eight. Overall, Lee outrebounded the physical Wolves 40-35.  

West Georgia produced a balanced scoring attack. Zuriyah Davis, who leads the GSC in scoring, paced the Wolves with 16 points. Inside force K'Nari Holliday came off the bench and tallied a double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds. Mykah Anderson and Jada Powell totaled 10 points each. Katelyn Dunning marched to the free-throw line nine times and connected on seven in finishing with nine points.  

The Lady Flames shot 38% from the field (24-of-64) and struggled again from beyond the arc, making just 6-of-26 (23%). Both teams were guilty of 13 floor mistakes. West Georgia outscored Lee 30-20 in points in the paint and took advantage of 20 fast-break points while the Lady Flames only had two. 

Coach Marty Rowe's thoughts: 

"I could not be more proud of how we competed and gave ourselves a chance to win the game. We got a couple of tough calls down the stretch but we expect that on the road. West Georgia is very good and we battled them from start to finish." 

"We are not very far away from getting things going back in the right direction. It will be nice to be back in Walker Arena Thursday."