MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo women's basketball improved to 3-0 in league play after a come-from-behind win over Shorter on Friday night behind 23 fourth-quarter points and a record-setting mark from the charity stripe.
The Falcons' offense opened the contest with a slow start, going 0-for-3 from deep in the game's first five minutes. With Montevallo trailing 8-6 at the first quarter media, Falcon guard
Isabel Grimes went on a one-woman run to give the Falcons an 11-6 lead with 3:17 to play. Freshman
Lia Edwards added a pair of free throws to open Montevallo's largest lead of the half at 13-8. Grimes added her seventh first quarter point 1:27 on the clock to give Montevallo a 17-12 lead at the break.
To start the second, Shorter rattled off 9-straight points to regain control at the 7:48 mark. Both squads went scoreless for the next three minutes until the two side traded buckets to make the score 23-19. Montevallo closed the quarter on a 7-2 run sparked by a
Ramie Reid layup who accounted for five of the Falcons seven points to end the half. Shorter added another deuce in the closing stages to head into the half with a 31-26 advantage over the Falcons.
Out of the locker room, Reid grabbed her second offensive board of the night and added the put back to trim the lead down to just one possession with 8:55 on the clock. Following a Shorter three, both sides failed to find points until after the media timeout when
Savannah Cook capitalized on a Shorter shot clock violation to make the score 35-32 Shorter. With two minutes remaining in the quarter, the Falcons went on a 7-0 run, sparked by four points from Grimes, that tied the game at 41 before the Hawks went on a 5-0 run in the closing stages to take a 48-43 lead into the final stanza.
With Shorter still leading by five, Reid's sixth-consecutive made bucket brought the Falcons within three before the freshman knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the lead down to 50-49 with 6:40 to play. Moments later,
Cali Smallwood pulled up from three for her first points of the night to knot the game at 52-52 with 6:07 on the clock. A Smallwood mid-range jumper capped a 10-0 Falcon run and lifted Montevallo to its first lead since 9:33 in the second at 54-52. With five-straight points coming from veteran guards A.K. Eastman and
Marisa Snodgrass, the Falcons its largest lead of the night at 62-52 with another Smallwood triple with 3:20 to go. Montevallo's 23 fourth-quarter points proved to be enough for the comeback victory at home.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 66 | Shorter 57
Records: Montevallo 5-1 (3-0 GSC) | Shorter 1-6 (0-3 GSC)
Location: Student Activity Center | Montevallo, Ala.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST | The Falcons came out of the first quarter with a 17-12 lead highlighted by seven points in the opening quarter from
Isabel Grimes.
2ND | Shorter bounced back with a high-scoring second quarter at 19-9 to take a 31-26 lead into the locker room. Freshmen
Ramie Reid (five points) and
Lia Edwards (four points) were the only Falcons to score in the quarter.
3RD | Again, Grimes rattled off seven points in a quarter to lead all scorers with both sides evenly matched in the third. Shorter would take a 5-point lead into the fourth.
4TH | The Falcon attack exploded for 23 fourth-quarter points behind eight from
Cali Smallwood who remained scoreless until the final ten minutes. With the Falcon defense holding Shorter to just nine points, Montevallo completed the comeback at took a 66-57 win.
GAME NOTES
- The Falcons perfect 15-for-15 mark from the charity stripe set a new Montevallo record for single game free throw percentage with a minimum 15 attempts.
- Montevallo capitalized on the Hawks mistakes to score 24 points off Shorter's 12 turnovers.
- The game saw six lead changes and five ties with only one second-half lead change.
- Reid's 7-for-8 mark from the floor is the highest shooting percentage by a Falcon this season with a minimum of five attempts.
UP NEXT: Montevallo completes the weekend at home with a matchup against Lee at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3.
