In a wild and crazy game for 40 full minutes, the No. 1 seeded Lee Lady Flames advanced in the SSAC women's basketball tournament with a 108-87 victory over a battling Southern Wesleyan University team.
The two clubs went up and down the playing floor in Walker Arena and put 111 points on the scoreboard in the first half.
The Lady Flames took the badly needed break with a 62-49 lead. They scored 100 points against the Warriors for the second time this season.
Both clubs shot over 50 percent from the field and from 3-point range. Each team converted over 70 percent from the free throw line. Lee's 15 3-pointers had to be close to the number of treys in one game.
Aaron Richmond came off the bench and scored 20 points in one of the best outings of her two-year career for the Lady Flames. She made 6-of-9 3-pointers, added five assists and picked up two steals. The active guard also got a hand on several loose balls as Lee forced Southern Wesleyan into 24 turnovers.
Four other Lady Flames scored in double figures. Katie Nelson played only 17 minutes but made 6-of-7 shots from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line to finish with 16 points. She also had a pair of blocks and two steals. Fallon Lee followed with a sparkling 14 points and seven assists effort. The talented senior point guard added a pair of steals, while Jessica Still tallied 13 points. The senior pulled down four rebounds, collected two assists and picked up three steals.
Kayce Addison made seven free throws and completed the double-figure scoring with 11 points. Jan Dodson, coming off her sick bed to play, notched nine points and captured seven rebounds. She finished with three assists and kicked in with three steals. Thirteen Lady Flames played and all 13 got into the scoring act.
Coach Marty Rowe expressed disappointment with the defensive play of his club. He pointed out that post player Amber Ryals was an outstanding freshman, but he noted that his club should not have given up 25 points to the Warriors leading scorer.
Sara Vollmer pitched in with 15 points and Chinessia Lee totaled 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. Tammy White completed the double-figure scoring for Southern Wesleyan with 10 points and Brittany Watts converted three tres for nine points.
Lee won the rebounding battle 37-25. The Lady Flames were guilty of 19 floor mistakes, but had 25 assists as they posted their 29th victory of the season against two defeats.
"We will have to play much better on Friday against Southern Poly or our run in this tournament will be finished," said coach Rowe about the NAIA's second-ranked team. The semi-final game against the Hornets is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.