CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Women's basketball perennial DII power Ashland University jumped out to a 51-31 halftime lead and then turned away a Lee University comeback in the second half in posting an 89-78 win over the Lady Flames inside Walker Arena on Saturday afternoon. It was Lee's first loss of the season (2-1) while the Eagles improved to 2-2 and also recorded the program's 1000th victory.
The Lady Flames began the slow comeback by outscoring the Eagles 20-17 in the third quarter. They forced the Ohio club into a couple of timeouts in the fourth quarter when they cut the margin to eight points, outscoring Ashland 27-21 in the frame.
With Libby Privett and Anna Muhonen producing the majority of the Lee scoring, it was not enough to overcome four Eagles that scored in double figures. Privett made 10-of-11 free throws and finished with a sparkling 32-point performance while Muhonen made 9-of-17 shots from the field and totaled 24 points. She also produced her second straight double-double of the young season with 11 rebounds. Baylee Delbridge nailed 7-of-7 free throws and chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds.
Ashland was led by the pinpoint shooting of Corri Vermilya. She made 9-of-14 shots overall, 3-of-4 treys and 3-of-3 free throws in finishing with a team high of 24 points. Ashley Mullet finished strong and was 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in a 23-point performance while Jenna Slates and Alysa Lopez tallied 13 points apiece. Slates was the Eagles leading rebounder with eight.
The visitors were solid across the board in shooting, making 32-of-68 (51%) shots overall and 7-of-15 (47%) 3-pointers, plus 18-of-19 free throws. On the other hand, Lee shot 39% from the field (25-of-64). The Lady Flames converted just 3-of-12 triples (25%) and went to the line 31 times and converted 25.
Both teams did a good job of taking care of the basketball. Lee had nine turnovers and Ashland 10. The Lady Flames produced 44 points in the paint and the Eagles 36. Lee also had the edge in second-chance points, 15-9 but Ashland turned things around with a 16-2 margin in fast-break points and a 22-15 advantage in points off the bench.
The Lady Flames will take a break for the Thanksgiving holidays and return to action on Monday, Dec. 1, hitting the road for the first time this season at Kentucky State University for a scheduled 5:30 p.m. tip.
Coach Marty Rowe's thoughts:
"We got beat by a really good team today. We expected their best effort, and they certainly played at an extremely high level. They were the aggressor from the start and we simply dug ourselves a hole that was impossible to climb out of. Give our team credit for responding and battling in that second half, but we as a coaching staff have to do a better job of preparation. What happened today is exactly why you play this game. You find out so much about both sides of the basketball and we can work towards getting better next week."
