Determined Montevallo Hands Lady Flames First Defeat of Year

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…