MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo fell to West Florida, 74-68, in the penultimate game of the 2023-24 regular season. 
 
Montevallo struggled to score in the first five minutes of the game with the Argos jumping out to a 9-2 lead with 5:14 left. At the 4:00 mark, Cali Smallwood knocked down her first three of the night to trim UWF's lead down to four. Following a pair of Argo buckets, Montevallo ended the first quarter on a 7-0 run with a pair of free throws from Leisha Steger, a transition three from Isabel Grimes and finally a lay-in from Anna Katherine Eastman to send the game to the second with UM down 13-12. 
 
West Florida opened the second with an early three before Marisa Snodgrass scored Montevallo's second bucket from inside in the next possession. Freshman forward Ramie Reid scored five straight points for Montevallo with a tough finish in the paint and a triple at the 6:29 mark. A 2-for-2 trip to the line from Lia Edwards brought the Falcons within one at 22-21 with 5:53 left in the half. Reid ended a quick 6-0 UWF run before Grimes cut the lead down to four with 3:35 left. The Falcons were outscored 7-1 in the final 1:13 of the half to head to the locker room trailing 39-30. 
 
The Falcons found themselves trailing by 12 with just under eight minutes on the clock before an Eastman floater ended a 6-0 Argo run. UWF then stretched its lead out to 13 before Eastman again ended the run with a pair of free throws. With Montevallo trailing by 11 with 2:55 on the clock, Reid sparked a 6-0 Montevallo run the cut UWF's lead down to 52-45 at the 1:51 mark. The Argos found a triple in the closing seconds to head to the fourth with a 55-45 lead over Montevallo. 
 
Montevallo cut the lead down to five in the first 33 seconds of the fourth with a trio of points from Smallwood and Snodgrass. A 9-2 UWF run over the next three minutes saw the Falcons back down in a 12-point hole. In less than a minute, Snodgrass and Smallwood added another 6-0 run the saw Montevallo close the gap, 64-58. The two sides traded trip to the charity stripe until a UWF lay-up opened a 70-61 lead with 2:05 left. The Falcons couldn't make up the difference in the final two minutes and fell to West Florida, 74-68. 
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 68 | West Florida 74
Records: Montevallo 13-13 (11-12 GSC) | West Florida 14-12 (11-11 GSC)
Location: Central State Bank Arena
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
1^st | West Florida controlled the paint in the opening quarter with 12 of 13 points coming from inside. Montevallo kept the game tight despite shooting 23.5 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from three. 
2^nd| Montevallo found a bit of a rhythm with a 6-for-18 shooting mark but a 9-for-17 line from UWF saw the Falcons get outscored 26-18 in the second. 
3^rd | Montevallo's defense held the Argos to a 29.4-percent mark in the third quarter, but a 35.7-percent clip left Montevallo trailing by 10 heading to the fourth. Anna Katherine Eastman scored 10 of the Falcons' 15 points on a 2-for-2 mark form three-point range.
4^th | The Falcons looked to spark a comeback in the fourth quarter but a 10-for-14 UWF mark from the stripe ended Montevallo's comeback hopes. Smallwood led the game with 10 points in the final stanza. 
 
GAME NOTES 

• Montevallo was led by Ramie Reid who tied a team-high with Anna Katherine Eastman at 14 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
• Montevallo shot 36.5 percent from the floor with an 8-for-26 mark form long range while West Florida shot 41.4 percent with an 8-for-20 clip from deep. 
• West Florida won the rebounding battle 46-33 with a 12-9 lead on the offensive glass.
• The Falcons trailed for 38:33 of the contest with the lone tie coming at 0-0. 

 
UP NEXT: Montevallo hosts Auburn Montgomery in the final game of the regular season on Saturday, March 2.