Box Score MONTEVALLO, ALA. — A back-and-forth affair during the first half, it took a little bit of everything from the University of Montevallo throughout the second half for the Falcons to earn their 71-61 win over the University of West Alabama Thursday evening.

"Perseverance was really the tale of the tape tonight," said Montevallo head coach Gary Van Atta. "I told the girls at halftime, a big stat for us — well, it was a negative stat, but for me, it was positive — we missed more shots in the first half than (West Alabama) took and the score was still tied at 32.

"We had 16 points on second-chance opportunities tonight, so I'm just really proud of the way our kids fought throughout the game."

Paige Ward was the prime representation of the Falcons (14-3, 7-3) not giving up against the Tigers (8-8, 3-7). After hitting her second 3-point attempt in the first half, Ward went on to finish the first half 1-of-9 shooting from behind the 3-point arc. However, it was the senior guard who lit the fuse during the second half as she shook off the first half statistics to connect on her first 3-point shot of the third quarter to give Montevallo a 38-32 lead after being tied at 32 at halftime.

After missing her next two long-distance shots in the third quarter, Ward flipped the script in the fourth and connected on her next three consecutive 3-point shots over a minute-and-a-half span. The spark extended Montevallo's lead from 53-46 to 62-49. Her shooting also allowed the Falcons' inside players to go from being double teamed to one-on-one opportunities.

"That was all experience," Van Atta said about Ward. "In the past, she was the 3-point shot; that's who she was, but even though she was 1 of 9 (in the first half), she was one of our better defenders and gave us a chance to stay in the game."

Montevallo's post-players took advantage of Ward's play opportunity, too, as Aaliyah Rice scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Shyan Flack had 13 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. For the game, Ward finished with 15 points on five 3-point baskets, six rebounds, team-high three steals, two assists and one steal. 

Montevallo will have a quick turnaround as the Falcons will travel to Atlanta, Ga., for its next game on Saturday, Jan. 25 when they face Clark Atlanta at 12 p.m. central time.