January 13, 2010

Box Score

MONTEVALLO, AL – The North Georgia women’s basketball team held a 10-point first-half lead on Wednesday evening, but the University of Montevallo clawed their way back into the game and held on for the 70-59 victory at BankTrust Arena in Peach Belt Conference action.

The Lady Saints drop to 5-6 on the season and 1-2 in the conference, while the Falcons improve to 8-5 on the year and pick up their first-ever Peach Belt Conference victory to improve to 1-2 in the league.

North Georgia jumped out to a quick lead, opening the game on a 14-5 run as Meredith Montgomery knocked down a three-pointer with 12:46 remaining in the first half to give the Lady Saints a nine-point advantage.

Whitney Randolph’s jumper gave North Georgia their largest lead of the game at 10 points with 4:40 remaining in the opening period, but the Falcons had an answer, scoring 16 straight points to close the first half and take a six-point lead into intermission at 36-30.

In the second half, Montevallo jumped out a double-digit lead, but the Lady Saints came back and pulled to within four points at the 14:05 mark as Sarah Stinson pulled down an offensive rebound and Ieshia Alexander found Randolph for a jumper to make it 43-39.

The Falcons would answer with back-to-back three-pointers and never look back, leading by as many as 15 points at two different times down the stretch before holding on the 11-point victory.

North Georgia shot 34 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from long range, and 72 percent from the charity stripe, while the University of Montevallo was 41.3 percent from the floor, 36.8 percent from behind the arc, and 64.7 percent from the free throw line.

Randolph led all scorers with 24 points while pulling down 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. She was 8-15 from the field and 8-10 from the charity stripe in 38 minutes of action. Janyce Ealey picked up her fourth double-double of the season as well, and her second in the last three games with 15 points and 11 rebounds, knocking down four of eight three-pointers.

Four Montevallo players finished in double figures, led by Alicia Lewis who tallied 16 points on 5-10 shooting from behind the arc. Carrie Parrott and Alex Sanabria added 13 points apiece, while Shan Jones chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds.

North Georgia returns to action on Saturday afternoon, traveling to Greenwood, South Carolina, to take on 15th-ranked Lander University in another Peach Belt Conference road game. Tip-off is schedule for 1:30 p.m. against the Bearcats.