ROME, Ga. — The Lee University Lady Flames basketball team advanced to the semifinal round of the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) tournament, with a 60-54 win over No.5-seeded, Emmanuel College, Thursday afternoon in Rome, Ga.

The Lee ladies trailed most of the way, going into the halftime break down 28-22. The Lady Flames came clawing back in the second half, however, erasing a seven point deficit in the final five minutes to earn the thrilling victory.

“Emmanuel gives us fits every time we play them,” said Lee Assistant Coach Mindy Kiser. “At our place, at their place, at conference tournament, no matter where we play them they seem to crank it up a notch when they play us.”

The Lady Flames were paced by a trio of double-figure scorers, led by 14 points from freshman Hollie German. Brooke McKinnon, recently named SSAC Player of the Year, added 13 points and five rebounds. Reigning SSAC Player of the Week, Angela Spann, scored 12 points for the Lady Flames, including a clutch three pointer with 45 seconds remaining to put Lee ahead for good.

Emmanuel was led by 12 and 11 point performances by Ashley Jackson and Kaylynn Young, respectively. Jackson earned a double-double, adding 13 boards to her point total.

All totaled, the Lady Flames outshot Emmanuel, 39-percent to 32-percent, but were out-rebounded by the Lady Lions, 43-28. The physical contest produced 56 combined free throw attempts, with Lee out-shooting Emmanuel, 68-percent to 62-percent, at the charity stripe.

The action shifts to The Forum in Rome, Ga. for the remainder of the tournament, as the Lady Flames will play tomorrow at 2 p.m. against the winner of Thursday’s contest between Loyola University New Orleans and Shorter University.

“We would love to get another shot at Loyola after blowing a 17 point halftime lead against them earlier this year (Dec.3 in New Orleans),” added Kiser. “But either team will be a great matchup for us.