The Montevallo Lady Bulldogs took a 29-game winning streak onto their home court Thursday with hopes of cutting down the nets following the 30th. The Bulldogs did just that, getting one step closer to the Class 3A State Championship by defeating the Dadeville Tigers 69-44 in the Central Sub-Regional.

From the opening tip, Montevallo (30-1) controlled the tempo. The Lady Dawgs cruised out to a 21-8 lead midway through the first period only to see the Tigers claw their way back to within 10 points, 30-20, with 2:45 remaining in the first half. But the Bulldogs pulled away.

“From watching Dadeville before, they don’t quit and we knew that coming in,” Montevallo head coach Tena Niven said.

For the game, Montevallo shot the lights out. The Bulldogs didn’t need to rely on outside shooting as they made 63 percent of their field goals. They were also 8-of-17 from the charity stripe. Dadeville (13-14) couldn’t seem to buy a bucket as they only managed to make 10 of their 30 field goals. Their highlight was a respectable 45 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, hitting 7-of-15.

The Bulldogs were lead in scoring by senior guard Sequoia Peeples with 19 points. Coming off the bench, she shot 57 percent from the field and 55 percent from the foul line.

“We knew that against man we could beat them,” Niven explained. “She just knows in her mind that, ‘Whoever’s guarding me can not stop me.'”

Shanise Hudson also found her way into double-figures with 18 points. All of Hudson’s shots were field goals inside the three-point line, as she blazed the Tiger defense with 75 percent shooting (9-of-12). Alisha Gentry added a modest six points, but don’t let that fool you according to Dadeville’s Head Coach Greg Shelton.

“She handles the ball very well,” explained Shelton. “She is responsible and just distributes the ball extremely well.”

The Dadeville Tigers were lead by their usual duo – Cynteria Jones and Amilia Boone, who combined for 21 points.

Boone was the only Tiger in double-digits with 11 points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field and a disappointing 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Jones pitched in with nine points making four of her nine field goal attempts while shooting 1-of-2 from the foul line. Boone was also 4-of-6 from the charity stripe.

With the win over Dadeville, the Bulldogs will meet Sumter County in the Central Regional at Alabama State University next week. Sumter knocked off Sumiton Christian, 51-34, Thursday. As the road to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex continues, Shelton said opponents must do two things if they want to beat Montevallo: “They must handle the ball, have no turnovers and second, they must get back, play good [defense] and slow them down.”

But beware Montevallo opponents, Shelton also points out that “they score fast and they score in bunches.”