SE Tennessee News

The Lee defense held West Alabama to 29% (12-of-42) shooting overall and advanced to the semifinal round of the Gulf South Conference Women's Championship with a 74-50 victory on Tuesday evening inside Walker Arena. The Lady Flames will face Valdosta State on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST at the Pete Hanna Center (Samford University). 

"It was a great job by our team tonight battling on both ends. West Alabama is a tough match up for us but we did a really good defensively for the most part," said Coach Marty Rowe. "This team just continues to improve and honestly we still think there is room for more growth. We are looking forward to going back to Samford this weekend and getting a chance to play another good Valdosta State team" 

The Lady Flames jumped out to a 35-22 lead at the halftime break but the Tigers rallied to cut the lead to 53-42 at the end of three periods. Morgan Carbaugh knocked down a pair of key 3-pointers midway of the fourth frame to help Lee pull away and secure the victory. 

Haley Schubert set the scoring pace with 26 points, making 7-of-15 shots. She was also 11-of-13 from the charity stripe, grabbed five rebounds and dished off four assists. Mallory Hampton followed with 13 points, six assists and four steals. Macy Woodworth added 13 points and was credited with a solid defensive job on West Alabama's Bria Dent. Addison Smith had five rebounds as Lee won the battle of the boards 30-28.  

Lee shot a solid 48% from the field (23-of-48). They attempted 11 3-pointers and made six (55%). They went to the line 27 times and canned 22. The Lady Flames got a solid performance from the reserves, outscoring the visitors 16-6 and also outscoring the Tigers 32-18 in points in the paint. 

Dent finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Jala Williams countered with 12 points and seven rebounds. Lee held Zoe Watts to only seven points.

Original source can be found here