BIRMINGHAM – The Devilettes of Mississippi Valley dropped an explosive contest to the Lady Dragons of the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama.
The contest started with missed opportunities by both teams and at the 8:12 mark, Ashley Beals landed an in-the-paint layup to take MVSU up 2-0. A three by UAB's Micah Scheetz (7:40) gave the Lady Dragons a one-point edge. A jumper by UAB increased the lead to 5-2, however Kenya Hailey's layup on a pass from Kenya Arnold took the score back to a one-point difference. A foul carried Arnold to the free throw line, where she made one-of-two, knotting the score at five with 5:13 remaining.
A five-point run by the Lady Dragons held the Devilettes hostage on the court, until a made free throw by Hailey at 3:11. At the conclusion of the first, MVSU trailed 18-8. Mississippi Valley's first points in the second came off the fingertips of Beals on a layup. Christina Reed scored the next points for the Devilettes on a fastbreak layup, bringing the score to 20-12. Going into the halftime break, MVSU was down 38-23.
Mississippi Valley exited the locker room with fire in their eyes and a rally in their hearts, scoring the first basket of the quarter with 8:20 remaining on the clock. Two minutes later, Lauren Elliot lined up and blazed the nets with a three-pointer. The remainder of the third, the momentum swung in favor of the Lady Dragons.
Beals scored the first points of the fourth for MVSU at the 9:42 mark with the assist going to Kristy Parker. Beals was sent to the line, making one-of-two free throws to continue chipping away at UAB's lead. The final ten-minutes of the contest proved to be the best as both teams finished with 18-points.
Parker put up 12-points, four rebounds and two assists to pace the Devilettes, while Beals finished with 11-points, seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Hailey tallied seven-points, three rebounds, one assist, block, and steal.
On December 1, MVSU will travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to take on the University of Southern Mississippi. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m.
