The word “tough” is an understatement about the Lady Flames game against Shorter College on Saturday, Jan. 19. This important Southern States Athletic Conference game gave the Lee women’s basketball team to a 17-2 overall record and a pristine conference record of 9-0 after this key victory.

“I think they caught us a little off-guard and really played extremely well against us. They had an excellent game plan and executed very well offensively,” said Coach Mark Rowe.

Shorter College posed a threat this year after much improvement from previous play. They dropped to (12-5) overall and
(6-2) in the conference. Team improvement will also be seen in the Reinhardt College team, whom Lee will face on Thursday in Walker Arena.

The Lady Flames forged a 15-point margin lead by half time, 49-34, but the Lady Hawks of Shorter refused to give in. Seniors Jan Dodson and Jessica Still provided exemplary outside shooting and Katie Nelson efficiently took care of the inside.

The 12th straight victory was led in points by Still, who netted 25 points complimented by six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Dodson led the 3-point assault by making 6-of-6 from behind the arc. She notched 22 points, five rebounds and three assists with her valiant efforts. Nelson had 22 points and six rebounds, while freshman Brooke McKinnon scored 14 points, dished three assists and secured four rebounds.

Senior Fallon Lee also turned in a stellar performance with five points and 10 assists. Aaron Richmond had six points to go along with her five assists. Kayce Addison, Lauren Brett and Morgan McConico-Lewis also played valuable minutes for the team.

“We shot the ball and shared the ball really well in this game, and I feel really good about getting out of Shorter with a win,” said Rowe.

Katarina Martinovic led Shorter with 29 points and nine assists. Sandra Kostandinovic helped lead the effort with 22-points and five rebounds. This shooting led to an astonishing 58 percent shooting percentage from the field for Shorter. Six-footer Nicole Frechette gave Lee problems inside. The post player grabbed seven rebounds and easily scored 19 points on the game.

Lee Women went above season averages by shooting 49 percent from the field and 47 percent from 3-point land (15-32). Free throws were also near perfection with a conversion of 13-15. Only 15 turnovers were committed in comparison to 26 assists. Shorter College had 18 turnovers and only 25 assists. The rebounding scuffle was won by Lee with a 35-24 advantage.