Falcons Fall in Final of West Florida Classic, 55-41

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of Montevallo women’s basketball team (1-3) fell in the final game of the University of West Florida Classic to UWF (3-0), 55-41. Senior Kris Seigenthaler (Murfreesboro, Tenn./Siegel) was named to the All-Tournament Team as she scored eight points and grabbed a pair of boards in the finale. Senior Carrie Parrott (Murfreesboro, Tenn./Siegel) also had eight points along with five rebounds.

Junior Davia Harris (Memphis, Tenn./Ridgeway) added seven points and six boards while senior Jessica Collins (Jackson, Miss./Callaway) and junior Shavonne Seymore (Hartsville, S.C./Hartsville) led the team in rebounds with seven each. Seymore also had five points.

UWF shot just 30.9% on the night but pulled away in large part to a big advantage in the free throw department. The Argonauts were 21-for-32 from the charity stripe, while Montevallo was just 7-for-12.

West Florida jumped out to an early 13-5 lead, with Kirstin McIntyre scoring a jumper at the 10:56 mark to stretch the advantage to eight points. Later, with 9:00 left in the half, Emily Erland’s put-back made the score 18-9, the widest gap of the opening stanza.
But Montevallo rallied late in the half to nearly draw even before the intermission. The Falcons launched a 6-0 run in the final 1:59 of the first period, capped by a three-pointer from junior Taylor Welch (Salem, Ill./Salem Community) to make the score 26-25 at the half.

A free throw by Parrott drew Montevallo even at 31-31 with 15:32 left in the 2nd half, but UWF responded with a methodical 13-0 spurt to take control. Sher’Ryan Scott scored five points during the rally, and McIntyre put the Argonauts up, 44-31, with 11:28 left.

Though baskets were hard to find for both teams, UWF never led by fewer than 11 points from that point forward. West Florida’s largest lead came with 5:36 left, when Jessica Young sank a pair of free throws to make the score 52-34.

While both teams committed their fair share of turnovers, with Montevallo giving away possession 24 times and West Florida coughing it up on 20 occasions, it was UWF who took advantage of their opponent’s miscues. The Argonauts scored 19 points off of turnovers, while the Falcons mustered just five.

The Falcons will return to action Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 5:30 p.m. as they take on Concordia College Selma for their 2010-11 home opener.