CLEVELAND, Tenn.-There was nothing easy about the Lee University women's basketball team's victory over Mississippi College in the quarterfinal round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament on Tuesday evening inside Paul Dana Walker Arena.
In a defensive battle, the Lady Flames turned back the determined Choctaws 61-52 and advanced to the semifinal round where they will face rival Union University on Saturday afternoon at 3:15 (EST). The tournament shifts to the campus of Samford University in Birmingham for the semifinal and final rounds.
The Lady Flames never trailed in the rugged contest but led by only one point, 15-14 at the end of the first quarter and 29-24 at the halftime break. With both post players and a pair of key reserves in foul trouble, Lee continued to hold a 46-39 lead at the end of three frames.
The visitors cut the lead to only two points midway of the final period before Mallory Hampton and Addison Smith stepped up with big plays. It was a three-point play by Smith that finally helped push the Lady Flames over the top and Hampton made key free throws down the stretch.
All totaled, three Lee players fouled out of the contest and a total of 27 fouls were called against the Lady Flames. The Choctaws took advantage of the situation and went to the charity stripe 31 times and knocked down 27. For the game, Mississippi College made just 12 field goals out of 55 attempts (22%).
The Choctaws were called for 24 fouls in the rugged battle. Lee cashed in on 24-of-27 attempts from the free-throw line. It was not a great shooting night for Coach Marty Rowe's team. They hit 16-of-49 attempts from the field (33%) and made 5-of-21 3-pointers (24%).
Hampton, who was named first-team All-GSC earlier in the day, paced the Lee scoring with 28 points. She made 15-of-16 charity tosses, grabbed six rebounds and dished off four assists. Smith battled for nine points and 10 rebounds. Mia Hurst left with five fouls but collected eight points and pulled down five rebounds. The Lady Flames lost the battle of the boards, 46-32 and the Choctaws hurt the Lee cause with 20 offensive rebounds.
Despite getting into early foul trouble, Amelia Bell led Mississippi College with 17 points and eight boards. Kylah Julian followed with 11 points and Nia Coleman was tough down low as she claimed nine rebounds.
Coach Marty Rowe's thoughts:
"We just battled and found a way to win tonight. We have been able to tough some games out down the stretch and this was one of those times.
"We are excited to get a chance to go back to Birmingham and getting an opportunity to continue our season. It won't be easy against Union but our team will be excited for the challenge."
