Lady Flames win NCCAA national title and more Chattanooga region sports news

The Lee University women's basketball team followed up a runner-up finish in the NCCAA Division I national tournament last year with an overwhelming 95-59 victory over Bethesda of California in the 2015 championship game Saturday in Winona Lake, Ind. That was after Lee's Flames fell 78-65 to Emmanuel in the men's third-place game. Two Lady Flames set program single-game records in Saturday's romp: Kayla Beavers with nine made 3-point baskets and Alex Swope with 13 assists. Beavers, who was 9-of-15 from the field and from 3, matched Carrie Cheeks with 27 points, and Shelby Brown had 19 points and 10 rebounds while Christina Johnson grabbed 13 rebounds, Cheeks collected nine and Erin Walsh had seven with 12 points for the Lady Flames (23-8). Cory Billingsley led the Flames (18-14) with 18 points, while Chase Cullen had 16 points and seven rebounds and Chad Lee had eight rebounds.

* The second-year Dalton State men's basketball program needed overtime but won 80-76 over third-seeded Cal State San Marcos in the NAIA Division I national quarterfinals Saturday in Kansas City, Mo. The No. 6 Roadrunners' win left both teams at 30-4 and set up a semifinal meeting Monday at 7 p.m. EDT for Dalton State against No. 2 Talladega, which edged Pikeville 64-62. Saturday for DSC, Anthony Hilliard scored 20 points and Preston Earle, Sean Tate and Jordan Bowling added 19, 17 and 16, Bowling with six rebounds, while the other starter, Ladaris Green, had four steals and three blocked shots. Julian Camper had 30 ponts and 13 rebounds for CSSM, and his last basket got his team within 77-76 with two seconds to go. For the final margin, Tate hit three of four free technical free throws -- for a Cougars' call of a timeout they didn't have and complaining about the penalty. Dalton State jumped to a 15-point lead in the first half, but San Marcos trimmed to to four by halftime. The Cougars fell behind again by eight but re-rallied and led by two when a flagrant foul sent Tate to the line for tying free throws with 11 seconds left in regulation. "That's what champions do. They find a way to win," Roadrunners coach Tony Ingle said in a DSC release. "We got out-rebounded very badly, we could not stop them from scoring in the post, we lost a good lead, we were mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted, but you can never underestimate the heart of a champion or the desire to succeed."

Golf

* The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's golf team is 15th out of 15 teams in the Linger Longer Invitational after two rounds Saturday at the Great Waters course at Greensboro, Ga. They're at 587, but scores were low, with Kennesaw State leading at 23-under-par 553. UTC's Ewan Scott and Brooks Thomas are tied for 46th individually at 145, with Liam Johnston at 147 and Wes Gosselin at 150.

Baseball

* JoJo Underwood was 6-for-7 with seven RBIs as Chattanooga State swept visiting Cleveland State in their TCCAA baseball doubleheader Saturday, 11-1 and 8-7. They meet again at 2 today. Underwood's home run broke a 7-7 tie in the seventh inning of game two. Cleveland State's Jake Wyrick was the reigning TCCAA pitcher of the week for an 11-strikeout shutout performance against Southwest Tennessee last Sunday, but the Tigers jumped on him for seven hits and seven runs, two earned, in two innings Saturday. Ben Young was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, David Mayo was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs and Andy Clay scored three runs for Chatt State in the opener, when Jammer Strickland was 2-for-3 with the Cougars' RBI. Connor Coakley was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Strickland, Wright Hackett, Caleb Longley, Chris Caffrey and Clay Hetland also had RBIs for the Cougars in game two, while Andy Clay and Michael Goss each had a hit and an RBI and scored twice for the Tigers.

* Lee University edged Shorter 10-9 and lost 3-1 to the Hawks in Gulf South baseball Saturday at Lee. Ben Holland homered for Lee (17-8-1, 8-7-1) in the second game, when Bryan Matthews had a three-run first-inning shot for Shorter (9-11, 6-8). Trenton Hill pitched a seven-hitter with nine strikeouts in defeat after having two RBIs to go with Chris Adams' five on 3-for-5 hitting in game one. Andres Nelo also was 3-for-5, with a triple and a double.

* The Sewanee baseball team concluded its Florida trip with a 4-2 win Saturday in Auburndale against the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Jackson Cooper was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run and Jack Whaley and Derek Hullings also batted in runs for the Tigers (8-10). Drew Mancuso was the winning pitcher with a save from Mike O'Neil.

* Covenant lost 9-5 and 8-0 to Maryville College in USA South baseball Saturday on Lookout Mountain. Nick Dean was 3-for-5 with a top-of-the-ninth grand slam and another RBI in the first game for Maryville (17-7, 13-7), while K.C. Simons was 3-for-4, Will Cleland was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run and Caleb Bloye was 2-for-4 with an RBI for Covenant (7-12, 4-7). Alex Kerr and Scott Gillespie each had two Covenant hits in game two, when Austin Watters, Jacob Frost and Dean each had three hits and two RBIs for the other Scots.

Lacrosse

* Robbie Berndt had four goals and an assist as the Sewanee men's lacrosse team defeated visiting DePauw 13-7 on Saturday. Hayden Byrd had two goals and assist and Cotter Brown had two assists and a goal for the Tigers (5-2),

Fishing

* The UTC duo of Chattanoogan Patrick Hoskins and Dillon Falardeau of Slatersville, R.I., finished ninth with 10 bass totaling 34 pounds, 6 ounces in the inaugural FLW College Fishing Open held Friday and Saturday on Kentucky Lake. An Arkansas team won with 43-12, with an Alabama boat second at 43-5 and an Illinois tandem third at 43-0.

Tennis

* GPS, Baylor and McCallie tennis coaches Sue Bartlett, Ned Caswell and Eric Voges will be the guest speakers for the Chattanooga Quarterback Club's noon luncheon meeting Monday at Finley Stadium, and the public is invited. They will be discussing the big DecoTurf high school tournament that moved this year from Louisville, Ky., to Chattanooga. The girls' competition was this weekend; the boys will play next weekend. Luncheon attendance costs $10 with a meal, $4 without.

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