Sutton saves the day
Box Score
After dropping three straight games on a road trip that took it from Georgia to Mississippi, the Miles' women's basketball team was in need of a win Wednesday night when it hosted Montevallo.
Despite holding the lead for much of the game, the Lady Bears trailed by two, with the ball but less than 20 seconds remaining. But on a play that did not go quite as designed, freshman guard
Victoria Sutton (seven points, four assists) found a way to make it work, slashing to the hoop, drawing contact, and knocking down a big shot to tie the game. The ensuing free throw completed a 3-point play and after a defensive stand and two free throws from
Javonne Brown, Miles emerged with a 78-75 win in front of a packed house at Knox-Windham Gymnasium.
Ashley McCrear had a team-high 14 points off the bench and
Taylor Terry, also a reserve, added 12 points and six rebounds for the Lady Bears (4-3), who withstood five double-digit scorers for Montevallo (2-3), paced by Haven Albright's 17.
Miles looked like it was in good position to earn the win early in the fourth quarter but in an 80-second span, the Lady Bears six-point lead had evaporated when a Jazmine Stubblefield (six points, four steals) layup ended a 7-0 run that gave the Falcons a 68-67 advantage. Things did not look particularly bright when Morgan Smith (11 points, nine rebounds) hit a jumper on an inbounds play with 21 seconds left to give Montevallo a 74-71 lead.
The Lady Bears would miss their next shot but McCrear gathered an offensive rebound and was fouled. She knocked down two free throws to cut into the deficit. Albright would split a pair on the other end before Sutton's heroics gave Miles the lead. Rayvon Christian (seven points, six rebounds, three blocks) was fouled on the ensuing possession but the Montevallo post player missed both free throws. Brown (eight points, five rebounds) corralled the loose ball, was fouled, and made her two shots from the charity stripe. A desperation 3-pointer by Smith was well off the mark and Miles was able to celebrate a hard fought win.
Larian Scott had 12 points and Morgan Hard added nine points and eight rebounds for Miles, which hosts Delta State on Dec. 10. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.Â
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