MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo women's basketball is set to host Delta State on Thursday night with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m.
 
Thursday's contest will feature several promotional giveaways as Montevallo Athletics celebrates the renaming of its arena to Central State Bank Arena. The giveaways are highlighted by a pair of $250-dollar gift cards raffles with the chance to win a $500 gift card with a halftime shootout competition during the following men's game. Fans will also have a chance to win a cooler courtesy of Central State Bank with current degree-seeking students competing for a $1,000 scholarship in a trivia contest held throughout both of Montevallo basketball's games.
 
So Far This Season…
The Falcons enter the game as the No. 6 team in the Gulf South Conference standings with an 11-8 overall record and a 9-7 mark in conference play. Montevallo began the season with a 1-1 record after defeating Nova Southeastern following a loss to Embry-Riddle in early November. Montevallo's home-opener featured a 27-poitn win over Birmingham-Southern on Nov. 14. The Falcons then headed into the conference slate with a pair of road wins over in-state foes Alabama Huntsville and West Alabama before defeating Shorter, 66-57, on Dec. 1. Montevallo suffered its first conference loss of the season at the hands of Lee on Dec. 3 before rebounding with a 70-60 victory at Mississippi College on Dec. 8. In the first meeting between the two sides, Montevallo topped Delta State 55-53 on the road. Montevallo closed the 2023 calendar year with back-to-back losses to West Georgia and then No. 8 Union. In the first game of 2024, Montevallo defeated Christian Brothers, 59-43, at home on Jan. 2. In a three-game road trip, Montevallo posted a 1-2 record with a win over West Florida to start the trip before returning home with losses to No. 23 Valdosta State and Auburn Montgomery. The Falcons returned home for a 74-59 win over West Alabama before heading out for a three-point win over West Georgia on Jan. 20. Montevallo fell in the closing seconds of the annual Pack the SAC game to UAH before dropping a road contest at Lee in its most recent outing.
 
Montevallo continues to be the top free-throw shooting team in the GSC with a 77.3-percent mark from the charity stripe while its opponents shoot a league-low 63.7 percent from the line. The Falcons' attack ranks fifth in the league with an average of 66.2 points per game while the defense gives up 65.6 points per contest (ninth). The Falcons rank second in the conference in both assist to turnover ratio and turnover margin at 0.99 and 3.26, respectively.
 
Scouting Delta State: WATCH | LIVE STATS
Delta State enters Thursday night's matchup with a 9-10 overall record and a 7-8 mark in league play as the No. 8 team in the GSC. The Lady Statesmen opened the season with a pair of wins over LeMoyne-Owen and Lane College in early November. DSU closed the non-conference slate with back-to-back losses to Henderson State and Harding. The Lady Statesmen opened its GSC schedule with a 78-65 win over Christian Brothers before falling to then No. 7 Union on Nov. 27. DSU continued a losing skid with another set of losses to Valdosta State and West Florida. DSU returned to the win column with an 11-point win over AUM on Dec. 8 before hosting the Falcons in a 55-53 loss on Dec. 10. The Lady Statesmen fell in consecutive outing at Alabama Huntsville and West Alabama before picking up a 74-63 win against Shorter. The Shorter victory kicked off a four-game win streak with victories coming against Lee, West Georgia and Christian Brothers in consecutive outings. The streak was snapped by a loss to Union before Valdosta State handed DSU another loss. In its most recent outing, Delta State took a 57-56 win over West Florida on Jan. 27.
 
Delta State's offense comes into the game with an average of 60.7 points per game (eighth) while allowing its opponents to score 64.3 points per outing. The Lady Statesmen's three-point shooting has been a highlight of the offense with a third-ranked 34.2 percent from long range.
 
Individually, DSU is led by Wakiryah Daniels who scores 11.6 points per game while Jayla Smith averages 10.0 points per contests. Smith's 52.1-percent field goal mark leads the team and ranks second among GSC leaders. On the glass, Grace Watson cleans up the rebounds with an average of 6.4 boards per game while Elishia Wilson follows closely behind with a 6.2 mark.
 
Series History Against Delta State:
Historically, the Falcons have struggled against Delta State with the Lady Statesmen holding a 20-3 record in the series. Since the Falcons rejoined the league before the 2017-18 season, Montevallo is 3-8 against Delta State with the Lady Statesmen taking four-straight wins before Montevallo picked up a victory in the 2019-20 season. In the most recent matchup, Montevallo took the win with a score of 55-53 on the road on Dec. 10.
 
Player Highlights:
The Falcons head into the meeting with three double-digit scorers in Cali Smallwood (11.9), Isabel Grimes (10.9), and Marisa Snodgrass (10.6). The trio is followed closely by sophomore Savannah Cook who scores 9.2 per game. Smallwood and Grimes are Montevallo top rebounders with Smallwood grabbing 6.2 boards and Grimes adding 4.5 per game. Snodgrass remains one of the top guards in the conference with a league-best 2.7 steals per game while dishing out 4.8 assists per contest (second). Snodgrass's 2.8 assist to turnover ratio is the highest in the GSC.