Kayla Bonilla, the smallest player on the floor, tallied 21 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished off five assists and canned a pair of treys to lead host Valdosta State University women to a 74-68 GSC victory over Lee on Tuesday evening.
It was the first loss of the season for the fifth-ranked Lady Flames, who dropped to 11-1, 3-1 while the Blazers improved to 8-2, 2-2. Lee will return from the long road trip and host Christian Brothers University in the first game of a doubleheader beginning on Saturday at 2 p.m.
“We were very simply out-played and out-coached in all aspects tonight,” expressed Lee coach Marty Rowe after the loss.
“Their preparation was much better than ours and that’s on me. It was disappointing but we will see how we respond the rest of the week.”
Valdosta quickly moved out to a 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter against the cold-shooting Lady Flames and never trailed. The margin increased to 38-27 at halftime. The Blazers came out smoking in the third period and built up their largest lead of the game (17 points) before Lee rallied back to cut the margin to only four points (50-46) behind a pair of 3-pointers by Taylor Boggess and another by Lindsey Roddy. However, VSU regrouped and led 58-50 after three periods.
Bonilla left the game with her fifth foul late in the final frame but the Lady Flames still could not capitalize. VSU shot 45 percent from inside the arc and 37 percent beyond the 3-point line. Lee’s hopes stayed alive when the Blazers converted only 15-of-27 free throws.
Nari Gardner had three big triples in the win and finished with 15 points, five steals and five rebounds. Cheray Saunders followed with 14 points. Delaney Bernard canned two big free throws in the final minutes and totaled 10 points while 6-foot-5 Saniah Simpson-Patu had 10 rebounds to lead her team to a 42-38 advantage in that department.
Sophomore Haley Schubert was best for the Lady Flames with 21 points. She converted 8-of-15 from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and captured five boards. Roddy and Nicky Widenski followed with 12 markers apiece. Widenski converted four straight free throws and joined five of her teammates with five rebounds. Boggess hit a pair of treys and had eight points. Becca Cheeks left the game with a knee injury and teamed with Maddie Long for five boards.
The Lady Flames shot just 37 percent from the field but improved to 38 percent on three balls. They converted 14-of-19 freebies. Lee was guilty of 18 turnovers and the Blazers committed 15. The winners outscored the Lady Flames in points in the paint, 41-18.