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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTEVALLO – The Pelham Panthers set the tone from the opening minutes to earn a bounce-back win against Montevallo, beating the Bulldogs 44-17 on Monday, Jan. 8 at the University of Montevallo’s Trustmark Arena.

Pelham’s defense held Montevallo to just a single free throw in the first quarter and got to work at the other end of the court.

The Panthers’ duo of Karma Wynn and Tee King accounted for 10 of their team’s 14 first-quarter points, which gave the visitors an early double-digit lead in the county battle.

That lockdown defense continued in the second quarter as Pelham didn’t allow a single basket from the field and only surrendered three points in the entire first half.

Meanwhile, King hit a pair of three-pointers to take herself into double-figures for the half, and the Panthers extended their lead to 28-3 as the teams went into their locker rooms at halftime.

Montevallo hit a three-pointer during the third quarter, but the hosts couldn’t keep up as Wynn and King added five more points to each of their totals for the game.

From there, Pelham’s dominant advantage let it cruise to victory. While the Bulldogs outscored the Panthers in the fourth quarter to cut into the final margin of victory, Pelham walked away with a 27-point win on the road.

King led all scorers with a game-high 17 points and Wynn earned 16 points as she grabbed nine steals and recorded four assists.

Destiny Burns was Montevallo’s top scorer with eight points.

Pelham will return to area play action against rival Helena on Friday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. at Pelham High School. Montevallo will also resume area play with its next game against Holt on the road on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m.