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No. 5 Lee heats up in 2nd half to best No. 24 Shorter, 71-58
By Matt Green
Box Score (Unavailable at time of release)
CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Hollie German scored all 21 of her points in the second half as No. 5-ranked Lee outscored the 24th-ranked Lady Hawks 50-33 in the final period for a 71-58 victory in key Southern States Athletic Conference showdown on Saturday night in Cleveland, Tenn.
Lee's leading scorer, senior Angela Spann, scored 10 of her 15 points in the second frame as Lee (21-1, 13-0 SSAC) won for the 12th straight time and lengthened its lead atop the SSAC East Division over Shorter to four games.
Shorter (16-5, 8-3) had its four-game winning streak snapped and lost at Paul Dana Walker Arena for the third straight time. The Lady Hawks led 25-21 at halftime, but couldn't cool off a hot shooting Lee squad in the final 20 minutes.
German took just one shot and was held scoreless in the first half as Shorter got 11 points from Robyn Foster and used a 6-0 run over the final two minutes of the frame to take a four point lead into the halftime locker room.
Shorter still led 45-42 when Kelly Ellison and Brittney Smith each picked up their fourth fouls and went to the bench with 9:03 remaining in the game.
Lee took advantage by embarking on a 13-3 run over the next 5:22. A 3-point play by Rachel Lockhart gave Lee its first lead of the second half at 48-45. German made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions and Spann capped the spurt with another 3 to put Lee ahead 58-48 with 3:41 to go. Shorter never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Foster paced Shorter with 16 points and Smith added 11 to go along with eight boards. Lee's full court pressure smothered Shorter into 26 turnovers and held the Lady Hawks to 37 percent shooting for the game.
Ellison, Shorter's leading scorer at just under 13 points a game, went 1-for-5 from the floor and finished with four points. She had six assists, but also committed eight turnovers, and never could get into a groove because of her second half foul trouble.
German was sensational in the final 20 minutes, making all three of her 3-point attempts and connecting on 8 of 11 from the foul line. Lee closed out Shorter at the line in the final two minutes and finished the game 27-for-37 at the charity stripe -- the Lady Hawks attempted 21 free throws total.
Shorter's defensive intensity reigned supreme early. Lee had scored just four points before Madison Lee hit the first of three straight treys for the Lady Flames at the 7:51 mark of the first half. Kally Eldridge and Spann connected from beyond the arc to give Lee its first lead of the game at 13-12 with 6:17 left until halftime.
The Lady Flames shot 19 percent in the first half -- 3-for-16 from 3-point range -- but warmed up significantly down the stretch to pull away from the Lady Hawks.
The Lady Hawks continue SSAC East Division play on Monday, Jan. 30 when they play host to Truett-McConnell College at the Winthrop-King Centre in a 6 pm tip.
