LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Montevallo women's basketball leaves Livingston, Ala. with a 70-56 win over West Alabama on Monday night.
 
The Falcons got out to a hot start, jumping out to a 9-2 lead in the game's first three minutes and change. West Alabama responded with a 10-4 run in the next three minutes to trim Montevallo's lead down to 14-12 with 3:05 remaining in the first. Following a Marisa Snodgrass floater in the lane and a Cali Smallwood three-pointer left the Falcons with a 19-14 lead after the first ten minutes. Montevallo saw Lia Edwards, Cali Smallwood and Isabel Grimes lead the scoring with five points apiece at the first break.
 
The two sides traded buckets to open the second quarter with Liesha Steger opening the scoring with Montevallo's tenth point in the paint. A.K. Eastman nailed a three with 9:02 to tie the Falcons' largest lead of the game at 24-17. West Alabama went on an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the night at 25-24 with 5:37 to play in the half. A Savannah Cook jumper from deep ended the Tigers' run and regain Montevallo's lead. With just two seconds remaining, Snodgrass found her sixth point of the game to head into the half with a 32-32 tie.
 
Montevallo's offense exploded for 20 third-quarter points on 6-of-14 from the floor. Grimes broke the tie out of the break with her third free throw of the night. The Falcons extended the lead with another Smallwood three to open a 37-32 lead to kick off a 9-1 run in the next three minutes. With the Falcons leading 43-33, Montevallo allowed just five West Alabama points to open up a 14-point lead heading into the final stanza.
 
The Falcons offense slowed to a halt in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter allowing West Alabama to cut the lead to just five, 52-47, with 4:30 left to play. Montevallo freshman Ramie Reid broke the scoring slump with 3:58 remaining. The freshman added another bucket just seconds later to extend Montevallo's lead to nine at 56-47. The Falcons final 12 points came from the charity stripe with Grimes, Eastman and Smallwood shooting a perfect 12-for-12 from the line to close the game and give Montevallo a 14-point road victory.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 70 | West Alabama 56
Records: Montevallo 4-1 (2-0 GSC) | West Alabama 1-4 (0-1 GSC)
Location: Pruitt Hall | Livingston, Ala.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
1^st | Falcons shot 47 percent from the field to open the game with a 19-14 lead after the first quarter. The first ten minutes were highlighted by five points from Grimes, Edwards, and Smallwood.
2^nd | Montevallo cooled off in the second shooting just 5-of-14 from the floor while West Alabama closed the gap with five second chance points, leaving the game tied at 32-32 at the break.
3^rd | UM's offense erupted for 20 third-quarter points on 6-of-14 from the floor and 6-for-11 from the stripe with Smallwood leading all scorers in the quarter at six points.
4^th | The Falcons closed the game with a near-perfect mark from the charity stripe, shooting 12-for-13 to close the game.
 
GAME NOTES

• The Falcons shot an impressive 20-of-26 from the free throw line while attempting a season-low 21 threes.
• In a game of runs, Montevallo posted its best run at 9-0 while the Tigers' best run came at a 10-0 mark.
• Smallwood has now eclipsed the 10-point mark in all but one of the Falcons' games this season after leading the Falcons with 16 points.
• Grimes and Eastman each tallied five assists with Eastman shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the stripe.

 
UP NEXT: The Falcons host Shorter on the first of December for the first conference matchup in Montevallo.