Lady Flames lose close battle to Union, turn attention to GSC Tournament

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Visiting Union University outscored the Lee University women’s basketball team 25-16 in the third quarter, mounting a 54-43 lead and held on down the stretch to claim a 66-62 win on Saturday afternoon inside Walker Arena.

The defeat drops the Lady Flames to 17-5 in GSC play and 23-5 overall while the Lady Bulldogs improved to 21-1 and 26-3. Lee will enter GSC playoff action on Tuesday evening and host Mississippi College. The contest is slated for a 6 p.m. tip. 

Following the contest, the Lady Flames celebrated senior day as they recognized five seniors. Lee recognized Haley Cameron, Mallory Hampton, Mia Hurst, Haylee Johnson, and Addison Smith during the celebration.

Lee recognized Haley Cameron, Mallory Hampton, Mia Hurst, Haylee Johnson, and Addison Smith during the celebration.

Union led 18-15 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Flames battled back and had the contest tied until the Lady Bulldogs made a shot right before the halftime buzzer sounded to claim a 29-27 lead at the break.

Led by Olivia and Macey Lee, Union came out quickly and took control early in the third period to grab the 13-point lead. The Lady Flames fought back in the final quarter and outscored the Lady Bulldogs 19-12 and missed free throws were crucial in the comeback attempt.

For the game, Lee only hit 7-of-14 charity tosses while Union collected 7-of-10. Olivia Lee and Jazalyn Anousinh each hit three triples for the Lady Bulldogs in helping build the lead. Overall, Union made 13-of-41 shots from beyond the arc (32%). They also hit 23-of-66 (35%) shots overall. They were outshot by the Lady Flames who made 25-of-58 field goal attempts (43%) but converted 5-of-17 3-pointers (29%).

The visitors took advantage of Lee turnovers, turning 17 of the mistakes into points while the Lady Flames were able to convert four of the Union turnovers into points. Lee won the battle in the paint 30-18 and second-chance points 14-11. The Lady Flames turned the basketball over 22 times to just 10 for the Lady Bulldogs.

Haylee Johnson led four Lee players in double-figure scoring with 13 points. Mallory Hampton had 12, Kara Williams and Addison Smith had 10 apiece. The Lady Flames outrebounded the Lady Bulldogs 46-30. Smith and Baylee Delbridge pulled down eight apiece while Williams, who turned in a solid performance, finished with seven.

Olivia Lee paced the Union scoring with 17 points. Macey Lee, Anousinih and Shylee Morrison totaled 10 points apiece. Anousinih and Morrison led the rebounding with six each.  

Coach Marty Rowe’s thoughts:

“What a great game to be a part of today, typical Union/Lee this time of year. We had some chances but didn’t take advantage of the free-throw line and some easy opportunities. I’m really proud of our effort and how we competed but we need to be a little cleaner on both ends. We are looking forward to hosting Tuesday’s playoff game. We will need to play our best if we hope to advance.”