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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTEVALLO – The University of Montevallo Falcons bounced back from a tight loss to an in-state opponent in Auburn-Montgomery to secure a two-possession win over another in-state opponent.

Montevallo defeated the West Alabama Tigers 67-62 on Thursday, Feb. 20 at Central State Bank Arena to secure a rebound victory in conference play.

Ramie Reid paced the Falcons offense with her team’s first six points before Elisa Saffold took over the scoring. However, West Alabama led by a slim margin for the first half of the first quarter and kept Montevallo at bay.

Baskets from Anna Katherine Eastman and Savannah Cook changed that though and gave the Falcons a 15-13 lead with 1:27 left in the first. The Tigers responded with a 3-pointer to lead 16-15 after one quarter of play.

Saffold restored the lead with the first four points of the second quarter. Jerrilyn Richardson kept Montevallo in front with a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 22-18 with 8:04 left in the half.

The Falcons then went to work in the post as Lia Edwards, Julia Susla and Aubrey Sorrells made key baskets in the final minutes of the half to help their team lead 32-27 at halftime.

After a pair of made baskets from both sides, West Alabama slashed the deficit to 34-33 with 5:35 left in the third. Montevallo roared back with a 10-0 run to increase the lead to double digits with less than three minutes to go in the quarter.

Edwards extended the lead to 11 briefly before a pair of free throws from the Tigers made it a single-digit game once again at 46-37 at the end of the third.

That set up West Alabama to start the fourth on a 6-0 run to make it a three-point game two minutes into the final quarter. The Falcons later responded to a three-point play with a Saffold 3-pointer and a lay-up from Sorrells to extend the lead to 53-36 with 6:17 to go.

The Tigers kept the game close and got back within three points three more times in the final minutes. Each time though, Montevallo hit a big shot to respond, and Sorrells and Saffold put the game away on the free throw line with 11 seconds left to deal with the West Alabama threat for good.

Saffold led the Falcons with 21 points and seven rebounds while Sorrells got into double figures with 12 points and six rebounds. Susla scored nine points, Richardson earned eight points and Reid and Edwards each finished with six points. Edwards also added nine rebounds to her total.

Montevallo hung on to the eighth and final playoff spot for the Gulf South Conference Championship with the win. The 11-13 Falcons will look to keep their postseason hopes alive when they host the UAH Chargers on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. in their final home game of the season at Central State Bank Arena.