#22 Lady Flames falter late to West Alabama

Sophomore Baylee Delbridge focuses in. Photo via Lee Athletic Communications.

The Lee University women’s basketball squad surrendered its fourth loss of the season Thursday evening, falling to West Alabama 71-66. The visiting Lady Tigers used a 44-30 second half to claim the victory.

West Alabama halted their seven-game losing streak, with the win. They improve to 10-10 overall and 7-9 in Gulf South Conference play.

The majority of the contest saw Lee controlling the lead and the pace of play. After leading for 28 minutes of the 40-minute-conference matchup in Walker Arena, Lee surrendered its lead in the second half, and West Alabama began to pull away.

“You just have to be able, at this level and in this conference, to play at your best — and that means on both ends, no matter if you’re home or away, and we didn’t do that,” said Coach Marty Rowe postgame.

Lee (16-4, 14-2) will have an opportunity to respond quickly with Alabama-Huntsville (5-15, 5-11) coming to town on Saturday at 2 p.m.

In the defeat, Lee was led by its backcourt duo of Mallory Hampton and Haley Schubert — together scoring 45 of the team’s 66 points.

Schubert led the way with 24 points, four rebounds, and three steals. Hampton followed with 21 points, five boards, and four dimes and added four three-pointers on five attempts.

“West Alabama exposed us — they outplayed us and outcoached us. Give every bit of credit to them,” Rowe added.

West Alabama’s second half turnaround saw an 18 to 9 points advantage in the third period and a 26 to 21 advantage in the final frame. The visitors shot 15 of 23 shooting from the field and 12 of 17 from the free throw stripe in the second half, and were led by Bria Dent’s 26 points.