MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The University of Montevallo trailed only briefly in the third quarter in handing the 13th-ranked LeeUniversity women's basketball team a stunning 67-59 defeat inside the Central State Bank Arena on Thursday evening. The Falcons opened GSC play with the impressive win and improved to 3-4 overall. The loss was the first of the year for the Lady Flames who dropped to 0-1, 6-1.
The determined Falcons led at the first stop 16-12 and improved the upper hand to 34-27 by the end of the first half. The Lady Flames battled back and grabbed the lead 42-39 on a 3-point play by Mallory Hampton in the third quarter but Montevallo regrouped and owned a 47-46 lead after three frames.
The contest remained close until the latter part of the fourth period when the Falcons made some key baskets and outscored the Lady Flames 20-13 in scoring the upset victory. Lee will continue the tough road adventures on Saturday afternoon (3 p.m.) when they move down to face Auburn University at Montgomery.
Lee shot 36% from the field overall (21-of-58) and made 10-of-27 3-point attempts (37%). In an unusual cold-shooting night at the free-throw line, the Lady Flames made 7-of-12 attempts. The Falcons featured solid shooting overall, making 25-of-58 shots (43%). They hit 7-of-22 triples (32%) and canned 10-of-13 free tosses.
Montevallo owned the glass, outrebounding Lee 42-28. The Lady Flames did force 17 turnovers while committing 13 floor mistakes. Lee dished off 11 assists and the Falcons 13.
Hampton was the only Lady Flame in double-figure scoring, making 7-of-13 shots from the field and 3-of-4 free throws in finishing with 19 points. Mia Hurst came off the bench to nail three triples and tallied nine points. Baylee Delbridge also tallied nine markers and led the rebounders with eight.
Isabel Grimes was the highlight for the Falcons. She knocked down five 3-pointers in 10 attempts and finished with 23 points. Elsa Saffold had a solid night with 15 points and nine rebounds while Aubrey Sorrells gave the Falcons three players in double-digit scoring with 10 points. Montevallo scored 32 of their 67 points in the paint.
Coach Marty Rowe's thoughts:
"Honestly, I'm not disappointed we lost this game, but what I am disappointed is with our effort tonight. We just got outplayed, outcoached and the better team won tonight. It's hard to win on the road in this league and unfortunately we were reminded of that tonight. We are going to reevaluate several things over the next few days and get ready for another tough assignment at AUM."
