LIVINGSTON, Ala. —  The University of Montevallo women's basketball team countered two "all-conference players" with a team effort from its starting five as the Falcons hung on to beat the University of West Alabama, 85-80, Thursday evening.

"It's very rare you'll see us play all five starters more than 30 minutes, because we had a deep bench, but tonight was just one of those nights where nothing seemed to go well," said Montevallo head coach Gary Van Atta. "(West Alabama) would score quickly, so we just had to keep going.

"I'm glad that everyone stayed in the game and cheered as a team; that makes me really happy."

Montevallo (15-4, 9-2) got out to an early 20-9 lead after the first quarter, but West Alabama (9-9, 4-8) responded with a 22-11 second quarter to send the game into halftime tied at 31.

"Defensively, you have to see that big run coming and stop it," Van Atta said. "And we just didn't do that during the second quarter."

Each team nearly doubled their first-half totals during the third quarter alone as Montevallo poured in 32 points in the third 10-minute segment of the game, whereas West Alabama managed to score 28. The scoring output continued during the fourth as both teams combined to score 43 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.

Montevallo's largest lead came at the 9:03 mark of the second quarter when the Falcons led 23-9. From there, it was a back-and-forth affair as near team was able to pull away at any point throughout the second half.

Shyan Flack led the Falcons with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while Kiya Sain added 18 points. Aaliyah Rice chipped in 16 points, too. Five-time GSC Freshman of the Week Marisa Snodgrass added 16 points and six assists for the night. The productivity from the quartet of Montevallo starters bested the UWA duo of Bria Dent (25 points, 17 rebounds) and Tazsa Garrett-Hammett (20 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists).

Montevallo will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 1 when the Falcons host Valdosta State at 1:30 p.m.