By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

The Montevallo girls’ basketball team is off to a 3-1 start after going 2-1 at the Bryant Bank Thanksgiving tournament and then blanking West Blocton on Monday, Nov. 28.

In the Bryant Bank tournament, the Bulldogs defeated Ft. Payne 70-54 in round one behind returning junior First Team All-County guard Lauryn Lilly’s 32 points. Alasha reed had 15 points, eight steals and six assists in the win, and Emri Hannah contributed 11 points to give Montevallo three double digit scorers.

Even though Lilly was able to score 27 points in the Bulldogs’ second-round game with Spain Park, she was the only offensive weapon as she scored more than half of Montevallo’s points and they fell by a score of 59-45.  Takila Hill had 12 rebounds in the game.

The loss placed Montevallo in the third-place game of the tournament, where they met Vestavia Hills. The Bulldogs got another 27 points from Lilly, who also added 13 rebounds for her first double double of the season as Montevallo went on to win 51-46 and take third in the tournament. Reed added 11 points and also had three steals to help lead the Bulldogs to victory.

In their first non-tournament game of the season, Montevallo played host to the West Blocton Tigers. This game was lopsided from start to finish and saw the Bulldogs jump out to a 33-1 halftime lead. Montevallo only gave up two points in the second half and went on to win in dominating fashion 71-3. All 12 players on the Bulldogs’ roster scored and played equal time. Hill led the way with 21 points, while Lilly and Hannah had 11 and 10 points, respectively. Lilly is averaging 24.25 points per game through the first four games.