By SETH HAGAN | For the Reporter

MONTEVALLO – The Montevallo girls basketball team played host to an unruly house guest in the No. 4 ranked Childersburg Tigers Thursday, Jan. 10 in their first home game of 2019.

The Tigers (17-1) jumped on the Bulldogs early with an impressive defensive performance and never relented leading to a 53-15 final.

Montevallo (5-9, 2-2) scored the first and last baskets of the first half, but were held scoreless for the entirety of the time in between those two.

Childersburg’s full-court pressure forced 11 turnovers in the first quarter leading to most of the Tigers’ points. They also gained extra possessions on the boards grabbing 11 offensive rebounds in the early going.

Jailah Swain scored eight points in a row for the Tigers who quickly grew a 24-2 lead at the end of the opening period. The second quarter slowed down, but Montevallo’s dry spell continued.

Even when the Bulldogs were able to beat the press they found it difficult to finish in transition as the pace of the game flustered them from the outset.

More than 13 minutes passed between Montevallo’s first and second baskets. As the teams headed to the locker rooms, Childersburg’s lead had grown to 31-4.

CHS picked up the defensive pressure again in the third quarter forcing 10 more turnovers. Montevallo’s shooting improved, but the Tiger’s managed to widen the gap further and led 47-9 going into the fourth.

Both teams scored six points apiece in the game’s final period with the clock running. Swain led all scorers with 15 points with Eunique McKinney chipping in 11 for Childersburg.

The Tigers finished with 20 offensive rebounds forcing 31 turnovers.