CLEVELAND, Tenn.-Defense and rebounding were the name of the game in the Lee University women's basketball victory over Mississippi College on Thursday evening inside Walker Arena. The Lady Flames held the Choctaws to 36% shooting overall (16-of-45) and more importantly outrebounded the visitors 37-22 in the convincing 59-40 win.
Lee moved to 14-6 in GSC play (16-8 overall) and secured a place in the conference playoffs. The Lady Flames will host Delta State on Saturday at 2 p.m. The team will also celebrate Senior Day and be seeking revenge against the Lady Statesmen. Delta State handed the visiting Lady Flames a 52-50 defeat on January 4th
Ten different Lee players grabbed rebounds and drew praise from Coach Marty Rowe for their efforts against Mississippi College. Addison Smith paced the board work by pulling down 11 while no other Lady Flame captured more than three. Coach Rowe also pointed out that his ladies had 16 offensive rebounds and allowed the Choctaws only eight.
In a low-scoring first quarter, Lee led 13-7. In the closing seconds of the first half the Lady Flames recorded a pair of key buckets that helped build a commanding 35-14 lead. The scoring slowed in the final two quarters as Lee put 20 points on the board and the visitors totaled 26. However, the Lady Flames were in control the entire final 10 minutes and allowed Coach Rowe to use all 14 players that were dressed.
Mallory Hampton led the Lee scoring with 18 points. She also dished off seven assists and came up with four steals as the Choctaws committed 17 turnovers. Anna Muhonen was the only other player in double figures with 12 points. Eight players got into the scoring act. Mia Hurst tallied nine, Smith tossed in seven and Haley Cameron totaled five points and three rebounds.
The Lady Flames shot 42% from the field (22-of-53) but struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only 6-of-24 attempts (25%). They were awarded 11 free-throws and made nine. Lee outscored Mississippi College 28-12 in points in the paint and 19-8 in points off the bench.
The Choctaws were led by Kyiah Julian who tallied 11 points and had four rebounds. Karly Ivy followed with 11 points. Lee's inside defenders held the visitors Amelia Bell to only two points.
 Coach Marty Rowe's thoughts:
"We have been talking about controlling our mindset over the last few games and we did a great job of that tonight. There is a certain way we have to compete on both ends of the court and when we do that we are a very good team.
"Being able to get stops in big moments tonight was huge, along with the way we rebounded on both ends. We cannot have any slippage in those areas on Saturday."
