Poly (29-4), which secured its first-ever 20-win season and finished the regular year ranked No. 18 in the NAIA Top 25 Poll, captured the program's first SSAC crown by toppling the three-time defending champion Lady Flames (28-5), who were hoping to hoist the championship trophy for a fourth time. The Hornets will make their first appearance in the national tournament.
Lee, ranked 10th in the final NAIA Poll, is all but assured a spot in the NAIA National Championships, but this night belonged to Southern Poly, a program that was making its first appearance in the championship game and had never finished above third in the regular season league standings. Lee had swept the two regular season meetings between the teams.
Stotler, the SSAC's Newcomer of the Year, made sure that her team's first visit to the final was a memorable one. The junior scored four points during Poly's 11-0 run to open the game. She scored 12 of her points in the first half and was just as effective on the defensive end, pulling down four defensive rebounds and swiping a pair of steals in the frame.
The Lady Flames, who boast SSAC Player of the Year Katie Nelson, did not panic after falling behind early.
Lee slowly chipped away at the deficit throughout the stanza, and finally pulled even on a three-pointer by reserve guard Julia Zimmerman with 43 seconds left. The game went into halftime tied at 28.
Not lost in the excellent play from Stotler was the performance by Poly guard Crystal Davis. Davis, who garnered All-Tournament honors, was incredible for Teymer's unit, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds, three blocks and a game-high six steals.
After a Nelson bucket gave Lee its first lead of the game at 33-32 with 15:02 left to play, Davis blocked a Brooke McKinnon layup and then scored three straight points as Poly reclaimed the lead and extended its advantage to 39-33 at the 12:23 mark.
Davis scored nine of her points in the second half and played well defensively against McKinnon, an NAIA All-American guard. McKinnon finished with 12 points, but shot 3-of-11 from the field and turned the ball over five times.
With Stotler battling foul trouble for much of the second half, Hornets' reserve post MyKenya Johnson seized her opportunity.
Johnson put up eight points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes. She connected on a fall away jumper as the shot clock expired to put Poly ahead, 49-42, with 4:59 left, and after Brittany Collins drilled a cold-blooded triple from the corner on Southern Poly's next possession, the Hornets had a 52-44 lead at 3:55 and never let Lee closer than six the rest of the way.
Chalescia Hanks and Winnie Markey each scored nine points for Southern Poly, which forced 28 Lady Flame turnovers and held Lee to 34 percent shooting. Collins chipped in with eight points.
Nelson, who along with McKinnon and Lee senior guard Allison Rader was named to the All-Tournament Team, led all scorers with 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 34 minutes. Rader and Kally Eldridge scored eight points apiece for the Lady Flames.
Cassie Moore from Auburn University-Montgomery rounded out the 2010 SSAC All-Tournament selections.
