HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Leading from start to finish, the Lee University women's basketball team completed a successful two-game road trip with a 79-58 win over the University of Alabama in Huntsville on Saturday afternoon inside Spragins Hall.
Lee led 18-14 at the first stop and outscored the home club 20-13 in the second period to grab a 38-27 halftime advantage. The Lady Flames continued to build on the lead in the third quarter by putting up 18 points while holding Huntsville to only 11 and commanded a 56-38 margin.
With the victory the Lady Flames posted their third straight win and improved to 14-7 overall and 12-5 in GSC play. The Chargers slipped to 8-12, 7-10. Saturday's victory sets up a key meeting between Lee and Auburn Montgomery on Wednesday evening at Paul Dana Walker Arena. The Warhawks are half a game (11-5) behind the Lady Flames in the GSC standings.
Coach Marty Rowe again praised his bench strength in the win over the Chargers, but as usual Mallory Hampton paced the victory. She finished with 19 points, four assists and had five key steals. The Lady Flames forced Huntsville into 24 turnovers while making only 12 floor mistakes. They also totaled 18 assists.
Keira Leffew came on in a reserve role and poured in 16 points in just 14 minutes of game time. She was 7-of-7 from the field and made two charity tosses. Mia Hurst followed the same act. She tallied 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and garnered four rebounds. Anna Muhonen also grabbed four boards.
Haylee Johnson played a solid 35 minutes and dished off seven assists and captured four caroms to join Hurst and Muhonen in that department. Lee enjoyed another solid shooting performance, making 30-of-58 shots (52%). They attempted 25 treys and canned 10 (40%). In an excellent afternoon of free-throw shooting, the Lady Flames sank 9-of-11.
Haley Nichols was the Charger leader with 15 points. She added six rebounds while Bella White joined in with nine points and nine rebounds. Huntsville held a 30-26 advantage in rebounding. The Chargers shot 41% from the field (19-of-46). They attempted 16 triples and made five (31%) and did damage at the charity stripe, canning 15-of-18.
Coach Marty Rowe's thoughts:
"It was a great way to finish the week off, with another really good road win. We are getting better and gaining more and more confidence every game.
"We are having multiple people step up in big situations. Keira (Leffew) and Mia (Hurst) gave us big lifts today. Again our bench play was really good."
