The Lee University soccer teams earned spots in the semifinals of the National Christian College Athletic Association national tournaments in Kissimmee, Fla., with victories Wednesday. The second-seeded Lady Flames went 2-0 in their pool with a 4-0 defeat of Judson University, and the fifth-seeded Flames likewise went to 2-0 with a 3-2 win over Southwestern Christian. Now 14-4-1 with nine shutouts in a 10-game winning streak, the Lady Flames play Campbellsville at 3:30 p.m. Friday. Kinsey Cichowitz from a Michelle Spangler assist, Kathryn Healy from Sam Pewitt and Molly McLaughlin scored in the first half Wednesday, and Brianna Pugh made it 4-0 from a Sarah Boyd pass. Marbel Egwuenu registered six saves and Erin Olson added two in eight minutes. The Flames (10-9-2) took a quick lead on David Perez's header of a Jonathan Finlay cross just 2:30 into their match, and they broke a 1-all tie 2:10 into the second half on a Garrison Adams penalty kick. Quade Marinell's breakaway goal at 73:10 broke another tie. Lee was outshot 16-11, but shots on goal were even at 7-7 and Joey Hinshaw made five saves. The Flames face old rival Shorter at 1 p.m. Friday.
Basketball
• Lee University women's basketball coach Marty Rowe recently reported four early signees for the 2015-16 season, including 5-foot-5 point guard Destiny Lowden from Plainview High School in Rainsville, Ala. The others are East Tennesseans: 5-4 point guard Haris Price from Gatlinburg-Pittman, 6-foot wing Anna Woodford from Farragut and 5-11 wing Tori Lentz from Powell. "The 2015 recruiting class adds so much depth for our team at the wing position, and more importantly it fills the need that we have at the point guard position," Rowe said in a Lee release. "Adding this group to the current group of freshmen allows us to definitely feel good about our future as we compete in the Gulf South Conference." Lowden averaged 18 points, 3.8 steals and 5.1 rebounds a game as a junior, while Price averaged 16.5 points, 5.6 assists and 3.2 steals. "Haris is one of the top point guards in the state. She was highly recruited," Rowe said. "She is fast, tough, has great vision and can really score. We feel she has a chance to be one of the best players we've signed here at Lee. Destiny is a tough competitor and high-level energy giver. She has the ability to play both guard positions and will fit in well with our up-tempo style on both ends of the court. We think she can score and defend, so we're looking for an immediate impact from her next season." Rowe praised both Woodford and Lentz for being "long, athletic" and able to play multiple positions and defend a variety of players.
• The Tennessee Wesleyan basketball teams each lost by a point in an Appalachian Athletic Conference doubleheader Wednesday evening at Bluefield. The 59-58 loss for the Lady Bulldogs, ranked 15th in NAIA Division II, was their first defeat in 10 games this season and left them tied for first with Point at 5-1 in the AAC, just ahead of Bryan at 4-1. Bryan (8-2 overall) won 83-67 over Columbia (S.C.). The Bulldogs' 84-83 loss was their fifth in a row, leaving them 4-5, 2-4.
Baseball
• Former Chattanooga Lookouts outfielder Don Grate, who played on the 1952 Southern Association championship team, died Nov. 22 in Florida at 91. The strong-armed Grate was a two-sport star at Ohio State and played for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1945 and '46 seasons and in the NBA for the Sheboygan Redskins in the 1949-50 season. According to an obituary on the website of the Highland County Press newspaper in Hillsboro, Ohio, Grate earned All-America honors in basketball after scoring 272 points in 21 games during his senior season, and he had 95 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched for the Buckeyes. The newspaper also said Grate was selected for the 1944 U.S. Olympic team, but the Games were not held because of World War II.