Freshman A’Laeshia Adams and sophomore Gabby Coleman scored a combined 36 points as the women’s basketball team won its first Gulf South Conference Tournament game in eight years as the Lady Tigers (21-7) held off the Montevallo Lady Falcons (8-20), 62-52, Wednesday afternoon during first-round action at the DeSoto Civic Center in Mississippi.
Adams and Coleman recorded 18 points each as Ouachita shot 35 percent from the floor and 44 percent from behind the 3-point arc. The Lady Tigers were 16-of-23 from the free-throw line for 70 percent.
Montevallo started the game by going 4-of-8 from the field to grab an 11-7 lead, while Ouachita was just 2-of-9.
The Lady Tigers took their first lead of the game with 12:42 remaining in the opening half when Adams drained a long 3-pointer to give Ouachita a 14-13 lead. The Lady Tigers, who went on the 13-6 run, took a 17-13 lead on a layup from junior Melissa Richardson with 10:10 left.
Ouachita continued to add to the margin after Adams drained another long trey to give the Lady Tigers a 24-17 lead with 7:52 remaining in the half. After a media timeout, Adams sank one-of-two from the charity stripe to give Ouachita 25-17 lead with 7:25 left.
The Lady Tigers extended the lead to 27-17 after a layup by Haley Griffin with 5:56 left, but Montevallo slowly started to reel Ouachita in, trailing 32-25 at the half.
The Lady Falcons kept things close in the second half as Alicia Lewis sank one-of-two from the line and Carrie Parrott added a putback to cut the Ouachita lead to 43-42 with 11:33 remaining. A putback with 9:53 by Parrott trimmed the deficit to 43-44, forcing Ouachita Head Coach Garry Crowder to call a timeout.
Ouachita got back-to-back 3-pointers by Adams to push the lead to 49-42 with just under seven minutes left.
After a pair of free throws by Adams, Coleman drained a jumper in the paint to give the Lady Tigers a 53-46 lead with 3:51 left, forcing Montevallo Head Coach Kelly Ezell to call timeout. A Richardson 3-pointer with 3:23 remaining gave Ouachita a commanding 56-46 lead.
Montevallo had chances to cut the lead, but solid defense by Coleman and senior Kim Beverly with key blocks kept the Lady Tigers on top 56-46. A bucket by Griffin sealed the game for Ouachita with 1:04 left, giving Ouachita a 58-46 lead.
Ouachita continued Gulf South Conference Tournament action at 12:30 p.m. today against the East Division No. 1 seed West Georgia. Results are online.
