Posting back-to-back wins over Dallas County and Bibb County last week, the Montevallo High School Lady Bulldog basketball squad ran out to an early lead in the Class 4A, Area 7 race.

After getting off to a sluggish 1-6 start, the MHS girls have now won three straight to improve to 4-6.

Montevallo 69,

Dallas County 43

The Lady ‘Dawgs rode a dominating performance by Kinyatta Hayes, who finished with a season-high 30 points and 12 rebounds to knock off the Lady Hornets.

Hayes was 13 for 19 from the field and added five steals for the game.

Dallas County was able to keep it close for much of the game, trailing only 40-36 going into the fourth quarter.

In the final period, however, MHS pounded the ball inside and got eight points from Hayes and seven from Samantha Spradlin to outscore the Lady Hornets 29-9.

Spradlin finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Santana Smith chipped in ten points and eight steals.

As a team, MHS had 23 steals and forced 31 Dallas County turnovers.

Montevallo 57,

Bibb County 38

The Lady Bulldog defense once again rose to the occasion, as Bibb County shot just 22 percent from the field and committed 16 turnovers.

Offensively, Montevallo got points from ten of its eleven players who dressed for the second consecutive game.

Montevallo was in charge for most of the night, taking a 16-7 lead in the first quarter and controlling the tempo for the remainder of the game.

The Lady Choctaws never got comfortable on offense, struggling against both the full-court pressure and zone defenses that the Lady Bulldogs employed.

Hayes led MHS with 17 points, hitting 8 of 10 shots from the field, while Smith contributed 14 points, four steals, and five assists.

Hayes also lead the team with 11 rebounds, while Spradlin added six rebounds to her eight points.

Haley Dennis and Ashley Ebrahimi also had five rebounds and three assists each.

Montevallo shot 58 percent from the floor, knocking down 25 of 43 attempts, including three of four from the three-point line.

The Lady Bulldogs will be quite busy this week before taking a break for the Christmas holidays.

After hosting Maplesville and traveling to area rival Holt on Tuesday, Montevallo travels to Gulf Shores this weekend to take part in the Dolphin Christmas Classic.

On Friday, MHS will take on host Gulf Shores High School at 4:00 pm at the Orange Beach Recreation Center.

The game will mark the first event ever held in the brand new, three million dollar multi-purpose facility.

Other teams participating include Briarwood Christian, Hueytown, Madison Academy, Decatur Heritage, Spain Park, and East St. Louis (La.)