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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

LIVINGSTON – The University of Montevallo Falcons are back on track in Gulf South Conference play after snapping a three-game losing streak by defeating an in-state rival.

Montevallo defeated the West Alabama Tigers 70-60 on Saturday, Jan. 11 at Pruitt Hall at the University of West Alabama to secure its first road victory in GSC play.

The Tigers controlled much of the early stretch of the game, overcoming a 3-2 deficit to take a double-digit lead off a 13-0 run.

The Falcons fought back in the final 3:30 of the first quarter and used baskets from Isabel Grimes, Lia Edwards and Aubrey Sorrells to trim the deficit to 21-11 at the end of the quarter.

The teams traded blows in the opening minutes of the second before West Alabama extended its lead to 29-17. From there, Montevallo trimmed the deficit to eight with 3:03 remaining until halftime, setting it up for a big run to finish out the quarter.

After the Tigers briefly extended their lead to 31-21, Grimes led an 8-0 Falcons run to finish the half as she scored four of those eight points in the final minutes. That left Montevallo down just 31-29 and well within striking distance going into the halftime locker room.

The Falcons carried over that momentum into the early minutes of the second half, tying the game up just 36 seconds into the third off a Sorrells turnaround jumper before an Edwards 3-pointer gave Montevallo its first lead since the 8:50 mark of the first quarter.

That 35-33 lead grew to three two separate times before West Alabama responded with a 7-0 run which gave the hosts a 42-38 lead back with 3:55 to go in the quarter. Grimes and Elisa Saffold hit 3-pointers in the final minutes of the third for the Falcons, but the Tigers led 46-44 going into the fourth.

Needing a response to retake the lead, Edwards and Sorrells provided that as the two willed Montevallo to a 57-53 lead with 3:10 remaining.

That proved to be the decisive blow as even a pair of West Alabama 3-pointers were no match for deep shots from Grimes, Edwards and Sorrells to put the game away late and secure the 10-point win.

Edwards led the Falcons with a career-high 26 points off 7-for-13 shooting and also earned five rebounds. Grimes and Sorrells both joined her in double figures with 18 points apiece while Grimes had seven rebounds and three assists and Sorrells secured three boards.

In addition, Jordan Gillies grabbed nine rebounds and four assists to go with her four points.

With the win, Montevallo improved to 6-8 overall and 4-5 in Gulf South Conference play, good enough for eighth place in the conference standings. West Alabama is now 2-12 overall and 2-8 in the GSC.

The Falcons will be back at home on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m. for their annual Pack the SAC game against the Valdosta State Blazers.