Southern States Athletic Conference

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The Lee University Lady Flames held Berry College scoreless for over 10 minutes in the first half and jumped to a commanding 32-14 halftime advantage in claiming the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon, 85-59.

Not only did the No. 2 ranked Lady Flames post their second straight SSAC tournament title, they also established a new school record for number of wins in a season with 31. Lee has not lost since Nov. 17, 2007 and has now won 26 consecutive games.

The Lady Flames came out red-hot in the second half and put 53 points on the board. The contest had already been decided with well over 15 minutes still remaining. The Lady Vikings (26-7) had to settle for second place but will join Lee in the NAIA National Tournament, which begins in some 10 days.

SSAC All-Tournament Team

Lee's Aaron Richmond wrapped up an outstanding tournament with 11 points, two rebounds, four assists and four steals. The senior was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player, an award that usually never goes to a player off the bench. Freshman Brooke McKinnon paced the Lee scoring with 15 points. She also tallied four assists and grabbed two rebounds.

Inside, Lee sophomore Katie Nelson dominated. Before fouling out, Nelson totaled 13 points. She countered with six rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and grabbed one steal. Nelson was selected to the All-Tournament Team. Jan Dodson enjoyed an outstanding game in her final performance in Walker Arena. The senior tallied 12 points, dished off four assists and blocked three shots. Jessica Still earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, scoring nine points, pulling down five rebounds and collecting two assists.

Fallon Lee pitched in with eight points. The senior point guard managed to post three rebounds and tallied two assists to go along with one steal. Kayce Addison continued her fine play with seven points, five rebounds and a couple of steals. Lauren Brett pitched in six points and two steals.

For the Lady Vikings, freshman Holly Compton had 12 points and picked up three steals. Lakiska Bryant earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team with 11 points and three steals. Mickey Duncan was held to just eight points by the tough Lee defense. She contributed two blocks and grabbed one steal. Duncan was also selected to the All-Tournament Team.

For the game, Lee shot a solid 53 percent from the field. In fact, the winners registered good numbers across the board. They made 8-of-14 3-pointers (44 percent) and went to the line 17 times and converted a very impressive 15. On the other hand, Berry could manage only 30 percent shooting from the field. They did step outside to make 8-of-19 3-pointers (42 percent) and marched to the line 22 times and sank 17 (77 percent). Both clubs were troubled with turnovers. Lee turned the basketball over 23 times and the Lady Vikings were guilty of 26 miscues.

The pairings for the NAIA National Tournament should be announced sometime next week.