CLEVELAND, Tenn. - It is on to Birmingham for the ninth straight year for Coach Marty Rowe and his Lee University women's basketball team. Advancing to the semifinal round of the GSC Championship did not come without a serious threat from visiting Mississippi College on Tuesday evening. The Choctaws battled the Lady Flames for four quarters before falling 64-61. Lee will face the University of Alabama in Huntsville on Saturday (Samford University) at 3:15 EST.
Mississippi College jumped out to a 20-17 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased the margin to 37-29 by halftime. The Lady Flames looked like a different team in the third period and led by Mallory Hampton outscored the Choctaws 19-11 to tie the contest at 48 after three frames.
Cheered on by a vocal Lee crowd, the Lady Flames led by as much as eight points with 4:47 remaining in the game, but Mississippi College refused to fold and moved on top by a single point with time running short. Coach Rowe said a 3-point shot by Mia Hurst was key in the fourth-quarter battle.
With the game on the line and tied at 61, Lee made one free throw but missed another to take a one-point lead. The Choctaws came down with a chance to go on top but the Lee defense stepped up with a big stand. As the final seconds were counting down Mississippi College was forced to foul and finally sent Hampton to the line for two charity tosses. She nailed both to secure the victory.
It was Hampton's best effort since returning from a knee injury. She finished with 29 points, making 10-of-17 shots from the field, 3-of-4 treys and 6-of-6 free throws. Anna Muhonen added 13 points and five rebounds while Haylee Johnson did not have her best shooting night but still finished with five points, five assists and five rebounds. Baylee Delbridge also came on for five boards as Lee outrebounded the Choctaws 33-29.
For the game, the Lady Flames made 24-of-54 shots overall (44%) and 6-of-16 triples (38%). They marched to the free-throw line 13 times and canned 10.
Mississippi College was led by the balanced scoring of Tytiana Buckley with 14 points, Amelia Bell 13 points and Tiara Abron 10 points. Bell and Buckley pulled down seven boards apiece. The Choctaws shot 42% (22-of-52) overall and made a blistering 8-of-14 3-pointers (57%). They knocked down 9-of-13 free throws.
Coach Marty Rowe's thoughts:
"We showed a lot of toughness and resilience tonight. Mississippi College did a great job of controlling the first half on both ends of the court, but give our group credit for hanging in there and continuing to battle. We defended with purpose and urgency in the second half tonight. Again, this team has a knack for just finding ways to win."
