MONTEVALLO, Ala. - Looking back, Kiya Sain and Kourtnie Smith were freshmen during Coach Gary Van Atta's 2^nd season when the 2017-18 finished 4-24.   Fast forward to 2020-21 season and they have continued to be the foundation of a women's basketball team that secured only the 5^th winning season in the past 25 seasons.   It was also the first back-to-back winning seasons since the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. 

On Senior Night at Trustmark Arena, Sain led the Falcons with 13 points and Smith scored 12 points along with a team leading 8 rebounds as the Falcons outscored West Florida 72-58 and secured the four game sweep over the Argonauts. 

The win puts Montevallo at 10-4 overall and 10-3 in the conference.  The loss drops the Argonauts to 7-8 as both teams enter the final two weeks of the season. 
 
"Kiya and Kourtnie made a commitment to Montevallo," said Coach Van Atta.   "It says a lot about them, they are driven, they want to win and they have bought in to what we are trying to build.  I am very proud of Kiya and Kourtnie and the leadership they have brought to this program."
 
Sain, who is second on the team in points scored with 12.0 per game, second in rebounds with 4.9 per game and tied for the most steals with Marisa Snodgrass at 33.  

"It means so much to have been here since Coach Van Atta took over the program," said Sain.  "To play for him and watch this team grow and be a part of this growth has been a lot of hard work but well worth it."
 
Smith, who currently leads the team in rebounds with 6.1/game and has exerted herself with physical play in the paint, said, "Honestly, coming from nothing to something with this team and Coach Van Atta has been great."
 
Both teams struggled in the first two quarters with the score tied 28-28 at the half.   The Falcons and Argonauts combined to shoot 29.2% from the field with 18 turnovers. 

Montevallo outscored West Florida in the third quarter 20-12 and then led by double digits most of the way in the fourth quarter.   Montevallo's largest lead was 18 points with 2:36 remaining. 

Snodgrass filled up the stat sheet with nine points, five rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. Freshman Elizabeth Hill came off the bench and went 4-9 from the three scoring 12 points. 

The Argonauts were led by Peyton Lewis who was 9-10 from the free throw line and finished with 17 points.  Alex Haymon added 12 points.
 
UP NEXT: The Falcons travel to Cleveland, TN on February 19 - 20 to take on Lee University.   The Falcons are currently in 2^nd place in the East Division with Lee sitting in third place, one full game behind the Falcons.  Montevallo defeated Lee 75-69 and 82-75 in the first two games they played in January.   The games are extremely important as the teams prepare for the Gulf South Conference Tournament starting on March 2.