Box Score
JACKSON, Miss. – Lee University marched into Rugg Arena as the No. 6 team in the country on Friday night and looked every bit of that ranking, with the Lady Flames defeating the Blazers 65-48. Belhaven played Lee tough in the first half, but Lee's deep bench allowed them to pull away in the end.
The Blazers had two big goals coming into the contest with Lee: stop Hollie German from scoring and keep the Flames off of the glass. Neither of those tasks was going to be easy, but they would be key if Belhaven wanted to a chance at the upset.
German, a junior guard, came into the contest as the sixth leading scorer in the NAIA, averaging nearly 21 points-per-game.
Belhaven limited the electric player to only six points in the first half, but other players emerged to pick up the scoring for the Flames. Forward Karley Miller and Julia Zimmerman were key contributors on the offensive end for Lee, with German struggling to find her way through the Belhaven defense.
Zimmerman scored all nine of her points on the day in the first half of the game, as the swing player went 3-for-5 behind the arch in the period to pace the Lady Flames. Miller also contributed with a few big baskets underneath the hoop on her way to a game high 18 points.
The Blazers, despite playing ferocious defense, were unable to get anything going on the offensive end of the floor and trailed Lee 30-19 at halftime.
Lee pushed the lead to 14 early in the second half before Belhaven went on an 8-0 run to get the game back within six points. However, that would be the closest that the Blazers would get to the Lady Flames for the remainder of the game.
German was able to break through in the second half with 12 points to bring her overall game total to 18 points, only three points short of her season average. Belhaven forced German into 6-for-18 shooting performance, which was a huge factor into the guard scoring so close to her average.
The Blazers also did a marvelous job against one of the top rebounding teams in the country.
Lee came into the contest as the top defensive rebounding team in the nation and was outrebounding their opponents by 11 boards a game; a staggering number this late into the season.
Not only did the Blazers out-rebound the Flames, but they were also able to grab a season-high 13 offensive rebounds in the process. The Blazers were relentless on the offensive glass, but were not able to turn those second chance opportunities into points often enough to keep themselves in the game.
Belhaven falls to 5-9 on the year and 2-3 in the SSAC, while the Flames improve to 12-1 on the season.
The Blazers get another chance to get their first win of 2013, when the Lady Barons of Brewton-Parker come to town for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off.
