After coming off a huge blowout win at home against West Blocton, the Montevallo varsity girls faced off against the Choctaws of Bibb County in a sluggish low-scoring game.  The Lady Dogs won by a slight margin of only six points in the early morning of Saturday, Dec. 3.        

The morning began with a very slow offensive game by both teams, ending the quarter tied with five points each.  

“We started off very sluggish and couldn’t get the ball to go into the goal,” junior Lauryn Lilly said.  “So we talked to each other and decided we would play through the obstacles.    

The beginning of the second quarter was dominated by the lock-down defense of both teams, keeping the score very low and close. Closing out the first half consisted of many free throws by both teams. The Bibb County Choctaws hit a late three-pointer to close out the half trailing the Lady Bulldogs by one point in a 13-12 game.

“We were frustrated with the fact that there were 22 fouls in the first 10 mins of the game,” head coach Tena Niven said. “I told the girls to just keep playing until the fourth quarter and then we would start playing more aggressively, just as we are used to doing.”

The Choctaws came out of halftime with a four point run to give Bibb County a 16-13 lead. After a minute of no scoring, junior Alasha Reed ended the Choctaws’ run with a steal and tough fast-break lay-up to cut the lead down to one. The Lady Dogs ended the quarter with a four point lead after a scrappy third quarter. The Lady Dogs outscored the Choctaws 7-4 to give Montevallo a 20-16 lead heading into the last quarter of regulation.

After four minutes of back-and-forth start, the Choctaws would cut the lead down to two with 2:15 left to play. After not being able to score the last two minutes, the Choctaws were forced to foul Montevallo trailing 23-25. The Lady Dogs would show their concentration, knocking down four key free throws sitting with a comfortable six point lead down the stretch. The Bulldogs held off the Choctaws and won 29-23, improving to 4-1 on the season.

“The game was tough but in the end we came out with the dub,” Reed said after their win, “and that’s all that matters.”

Junior Lauryn Lilly finished the game with a team-high 11 points. Lilly also had four rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Tekay Hill finished with a double-double consisting of 10 points and 16 rebounds. Hill also added one block to her name. Senior Emri Hannah had a team-high of three assists against the Choctaws.