CLEVELAND, Tenn. --- Freshman Brett Gardner recorded a season-high in the scoring column as the Mississippi College women's basketball team fell 78-58 at 23rd ranked Lee University to close out the pre-holiday break portion of the 2022-23 schedule. MC moves to 3-10 and 2-8 in Gulf South Conference action. Lee improves to 10-2 and 9-0 in conference play.
 
Gardner finished in double figures for the third time this season as she reset her season best with 18 points. Her previous high was 12 points against West Florida on Nov. 26. Ava Knoedl finished just outside the double-digit, scoring column with nine points. Keller Bigham led the way on the glass with nine rebounds – two shy of her season best.
 
Lee led wire-to-wire in the contest as it held a 41-26 lead at the intermission and outscored the Choctaw by five points in the second half. LU grabbed its largest lead of the game with just over eight and half minutes left to play on a pull-up jumper in the paint from Haley Schubert – two of her game-best 19 points.
 
MC posted its largest scoring run as it closed out the game on an 11-0 run – all coming from freshmen Gardner, Knoedl and Karly Ivy. The freshmen triplets alongside of junior Kyiah Julian helped the Blue and Gold outscore the Lady Flames 21-14 in the final period.
 
For the ninth time this season the Choctaw have outrebounded its opponent on the glass as they grabbed 37 today in the setback to best LU by 10 on the glass. The board total is the fourth highest by the Blue and Gold this season and the 10th time with 30-plus rebounds in a game.
 
Schubert led a quartet of Lady Flames in double figures. Macy Woodworth added 14 points while Hannah Garrett supplied 13. Mallory Hampton rounded out the group with 11 points. The grouping of Woodworth, Garrett and Hampton gathered a team-best five rebounds each in the contest.
 
Mississippi College returns to action on Jan. 2 as it hosts in-state and conference foe, Delta State University. Tip is at 5:30 p.m.
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