CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The Lee University women's basketball team scored its ninth straight victory and set up a key meeting with Union University on Saturday (2 p.m.) with a 66-40 win over Christian Brothers University inside Walker Arena on Thursday evening. The Lady Flames improved to 17-4 in GSC play and 23-4 overall. The Lady Bucs were seeking their second win of the year.
A win over Union would move Lee into second place as the two teams move into GSC tournament play. If the Lady Bulldogs win, the Lady Flames would have to settle for third place. No matter the outcome, Lee will be hosting the first round of the GSC playoff on Tuesday evening.
The Lady Flames will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday before the men's game. They will honor seniors Mallory Hampton, Haylee Johnson, Mia Hurst, Haley Cameron and Addison Smith. All five have been key parts of the success of the 2024-25 team.
The low-scoring first quarter saw the Lady Flames holding an 11-10 lead. Lee broke the contest open in the second frame by outscoring the visitors 23-10, taking a 34-24 lead at halftime. The margin continued to grow in the third period as the Lady Flames put 19 markers on the board to 12 for the Lady Bucs. The tally reached 53-32 entering the final period.
Mallory Hampton, who had her best performance since returning from a knee injury, tallied 20 points in three periods of play and sat out the final 10 minutes. She made 6-of-8 shots overall, 3-of-3 3-pointers and 5-of-5 free throws.
Anna Muhonen was the only other Lady Flame in double-figure scoring. She tallied 12 points and was 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. Haylee Johnson finished with nine points. Overall, nine Lee players put points on the board and Coach
Marty Rowe praised the defensive play of Addison Smith. She joined with Mia Hurst in leading the team with six rebounds apiece.
Lee shot 46% overall (20-of-44) and 30% from beyond the arc (6-of-20). The Lady Flames made 20-of-29 free throws. They outrebounded the Lady Bucs 35-32 and forced 23 turnovers.
Christian Brothers was held to 28% (15-of-53) shooting from the field by Lee's defense. They attempted 17 triples and made four (24%) and were 6-of-9 from the charity stripe. Jada Hood led the Lady Bucs in scoring with 15 points while Valencia McFall followed with 11 and led her team in rebounding with seven.
Coach Marty Rowe's thoughts:
"It was a good win tonight. It is a tough game to prepare for at this point in the season, but I thought we did some good things in the second and third quarters. We accomplished what we needed tonight and we will start preparing for Saturday."
