Posted by
George Starr
-
Fri, Mar 7, 2008
- [
Women's Basketball
] - Viewed 202 times
CLEVELAND, Tenn. - It will be the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the championship game of the Southern States Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament. After Berry eliminated Emmanuel earlier in the day, the Lee Lady Flames handily defeated Southern Polytechnic State University 75-41 and will attempt to claim their second straight tournament championship on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Lee's Walker Arena.
Sophomore Katie Nelson set the scoring pace for the Lady Flames, ranked No. 2 nationally by the NAIA. Nelson tallied 19 points, making 8-of-10 shots from the field and also captured four rebounds and blocked four Southern Poly shots. SSAC Player of the Year, Jessica Still, turned in another solid effort with 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.
Aaron Richmond stepped up big again. The senior guard registered 16 points and grabbed four rebounds. Her effort drew the praise of coach Marty Rowe. "If Aaron plays this way, it makes us an even better basketball team," said Rowe after his Lady Flames became only the second Lee women's basketball team to post 30 wins in one season.
Lee moved on top 39-18 at the half and was never seriously threatened in the contest. Rowe singled out the reserve play of Kayce Addison, Lauren Brett and Morgan McConico-Lewis. Addison and McConico-Lewis claimed five rebounds apiece, while senior Jan Dodson was the Lee leader in that department with nine boards. She also had four assists.
The Lady Flames shot 42 percent from the field, but it was the defensive effort by Lee that really pleased coach Rowe. After watching Southern Wesleyan shoot a high percentage and score 87 points against his club on Thursday, Rowe pointed directly towards Southern Poly's 26 percent shooting from the field and only 12 percent from 3-point range. Lee limited the Hornets to just 18 points in the first half.
No Southern Poly player reached double figure scoring. Sanielle Bryant was the Hornet leader with nine points and eight rebounds. Donee Ray Jones added eight points. Southern Poly committed 23 floor mistakes and finished the year at 18-12 overall. The Lady Flames turned the ball over 21 times, much to the dismay of the Lee coaching staff.