MONTEVALLO, Ala. - The Montevallo Falcons tuned up for their Tuesday night GSC tournament game by beating the Shorter University Hawks for the second time in two days, 73-58. UM concludes the regular season with a 13-4 GSC record and 13-5 overall. Shorter falls to 5-15 as their season comes to an end.
The Falcons played great defense throughout the game holding Shorter to 33.3% shooting and outrebounding the Hawks by 21 rebounds, 59-38. Montevallo played their entire roster with all fourteen players seeing at least five minutes of playing time. Twelve of the fourteen players scored points in the game.
"We tried to play better defense tonight, especially in the second half," said head coach
Gary Van Atta. "It has been a long season because of COVID so we wanted our entire team to play and have significant minutes. As we prepare for Tuesday night, we have to keep playing great defense. Defense has to be our constant."
The Falcons played a great first quarter outscoring Shorter 26-14 as UM was 11-22 from the field. The second quarter belonged to junior
Tiara McLeod as she made five baskets for ten points leading Montevallo to 48-34 lead at halftime.
UM's four freshmen, Anna Katherine Eastman,
Leisha Steger,
Miriam Oldacre and
Elizabeth Hill played significant minutes in the second half with Steger knocking down the first three of her career. Montevallo did not let Shorter gain any momentum and coasted down the stretch for a 73-58 win.
Junior
Jordan Jones led the Falcons with 13 points and senior
Kourtnie Smith was one rebound away from a double-double scoring ten points with nine rebounds.
Shorter was led by Jasmine Gaines as she finished with 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the Hawks.
UP NEXT: The Falcons will practice Sunday and Monday as they prepare for their GSC quarterfinal game as they host Alabama-Huntsville on Tuesday, March 2 at 6:00 pm in Trustmark Arena. The doors will open at 5:00 pm and seating will be limited to the first 280 fans.