Coming off of a road upset at Mississippi College Jan. 14, the North Alabama women’s basketball team was looking to bounce back with a win, and a win it was.

UNA (13-3, 7-3 Gulf South Conference) defeated Lee (11-5, 6-4 GSC) 74-69 Jan. 19 at Flowers Hall in a showdown between two teams tied for 2nd place in the GSC.

The Lions led 65-45 entering the 4th quarter before Lee came storming back to come within as few as three points, but the Lions remained resilient in the win.

“We had three excellent quarters we played,” said Lions head coach Missy Tiber. “I think that’s a good thing that we went through some struggles and still came out with a win.”

Junior guard KeKe Gunter and junior forward Michaela DeKilder were the statistical standouts of the night as both finished with double-doubles.

Gunter led the team in scoring with 19 points and added 10 rebounds, while DeKilder led the team in rebounds with 18 and tacked on 17 points.

“In practice, our focus was to make sure we had energy for this entire game,” DeKilder said. “We didn’t have energy in our last game against Mississippi College and it bit us in the butt.”

Freshman guards Emma and Ivy Wallen also made their presence felt. Emma Wallen netted 16 points on the night and Ivy Wallen led the team in assists with eight.

The Lions will be back in action Jan. 21 when they travel to take on Shorter in GSC play. They return to Florence Jan. 26 to play host to Mississippi College in a rematch.