Much of the field was pushed into Wednesday morning and the Lady Flames were included in that group. They scrambled and found a way to finish with a 339. Coach John Maupin’s group came right back an hour or so later and improved by an amazing 21 strokes, firing a 318.
The two-round total of 657 leaves the Lady Flames in 16th place, 30 strokes behind the tournament leader, Lubbock Christian. The Lady Chaps blistered the course on Wednesday with a round of 302. Kylie Barros is the tournament individual leader. After 36 holes, the British Columbia golfer has posted 73-74 – 147 (1-over par).
Two of the Lee players shot under 80 on the 670 yard course. Geandra Almeida was the Lady Flames’ leader with a 78. She came back from an 85 on Wednesday morning and stands at 163. Sloane Skinner also improved by seven strokes and her 79 gives the sophomore 165 after 36 holes.
Courtney Shelton will take Lee’s lowest number into 18 more holes of golf on Thursday. The freshman opened play with an 82 and came back with an 80 (162). Kristin Bourg gave the Lady Flames four players in solid numbers by coming in at 81 and totaling 167.
Some 129 players will tee up early again on Thursday as they battle to make the cut in the 72-hole tournament.
“I was really pleased with the way our team played today,” said Maupin, who has the Lee ladies in only their third year of NAIA competition. “The girls did an outstanding job of focusing and playing through some tough stuff. We played 36 holes in about a 20 hour span. That kind of quick turnaround is really tough to handle.”
“Seeing our young team play so well, made me really proud,” he added. “We made up some ground with our second round play. At this point that's what you want to do, just try and move up after each round. Our plan is to get some rest, and get ready to play well again tomorrow.”
