MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo women's basketball is set to begin the 2023-24 conference slate with two road matchups with in-state rivals Alabama Huntsville and West Alabama.
So Far This Season…
The Falcons enter the conference season with a 2-1 record in non-conference action. To start the season, Montevallo dropped its opening contest to Embry-Riddle, 88-74, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for the Gulf South-Sunshine State Crossover Classic before Falcon Head Coach
Olivia Chapman recorded her first career victory with a 77-69 win over Nova Southeastern on Nov. 11. The Falcons returned home for a matchup with Birmingham-Southern on Nov. 14 when the Falcons defeated the Panthers 67-40 in front of Montevallo Elementary for the Falcons' Education Day.
Scouting Alabama Huntsville: WATCH | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES
UAH enters Saturday's game with a 1-2 overall record against Div. II opponents with the Chargers lone win coming against No. 3 Tampa in a 65-59 upset in Huntsville, Ala. The Chargers opened the season with a loss to Florida Southern on Nov. 10 before falling to Trevecca Nazarene on Nov. 15. UAH has one more exhibition scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 21 before taking on the Falcons on Nov. 25. Haleim Adle leads the UAH offense with 9.3 points per game on a 48 percent shooting mark with Bella White leading the Chargers on the boards with 5.3 per contest.
Series History Against Alabama Huntsville:
This is the 74
th all-time meeting between to two Alabama teams with UAH holding a slight edge with a 38-35 record over the Falcons since 1977. Since the Falcons rejoined the GSC after 2016-17 season, the Falcons hold a 7-5 record over the Chargers. For the last four full seasons, both teams have split the regular season contests with the Falcons falling to UAH in the first round of the 2019-20 GSC tournament. A season ago, Montevallo broke the cycle after defeating UAH in each of the regular season matchups with Montevallo taking the most recent game, 66-61, on Jan. 18, 2023.
Scouting West Alabama: WATCH | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES
West Alabama comes into Monday night's matchup with a 1-3 overall record during the non-conference slate following a season-opening loss to RV Tuskegee on Nov. 10. The Tigers bounced back with a 61-52 win over Albany State on Nov. 11 before falling to Florida Tech and Palm Beach Atlantic in the last two contests. West Alabama is led by Julia Rodriguez who has averaged 14.5 points per game on a 47 percent shooting mark to go along with a 5.0 rebounds per game mark through the first four games of the season. The Tigers' Shayla Golden is one of the league's top rebounders with a 7.8 boards per game mark.
Series History Against West Alabama:
Since 2011, the Falcons and the Tigers have faced off 16 times with UWA holding the series record at 9-7 against Montevallo. The Falcons struggled against West Alabama after returning to the GSC in 2017-18 with the Tigers taking four straight wins from 2017-19. Montevallo rattled off a pair of victories during the 2019-20 season before the two sides split each of the last four contests. Most recently, the Falcons defeated UWA 52-47 on Jan. 11, 2023.
PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS:
The Falcons offense is led by freshman forward
Cali Smallwood who averages 15 points per game on a 45 percent shooting clip and a 42 percent mark from deep.
Ramie Reid leads the Falcons on the boards with 6.7 per game while
Marisa Snodgrass is the squad leader in assists per game (7.0) and steals per game (3.3). Snodgrass (11.7),
Isabel Grimes (11.0) and A.K. Eastman (10.0) round out the double-digit scorers with Smallwood for the Falcons top scoring marks through three games.
