MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner dug itself too big a hole, and a late rally wasn't enough as Talladega held off the Lady Eagles for a 65-52 victory here Tuesday night in a non-conference game at Tine Davis Gymnasium.

Ice-cold shooting from Faulkner allowed the Lady Tornadoes (11-3) to steadily pull away to a 60-41 advantage with 4:48 left to play. Faith LeGate and Savana Flack each had six points in a 12-0 Lady Eagle run that cut the margin to 60-53, but Reed Sutton's team could get no closer.

The Lady Eagles shot just 29 percent for the game from the field, never truly finding the range except for the late three-minute stretch.

"I thought we played well defensively against another quality opponent, but offensively we just didn't get it done," said Sutton, whose team held Talladega to a 34-percent shooting night. "We've played an incredibly difficult schedule, but nobody is going to feel sorry for us. We just have to stay the course and keep working. I thought the effort and energy was good tonight, despite the loss."

LeGate led Faulkner with 13 points, while Kylie Moore added 10. Tajanee Wells scored all 15 of her points in the second half to lead the Lady Tornadoes, who also got 13 points from Shakeena Benton and 12 from Thomesha Smith.

It wasn't a pretty first two quarters for either team, with cold shooting and turnovers dominating the action. Neither team led by more than five points, as the Lady Tornadoes used a five-point run to close the second quarter that sent them to the locker room with a 23-19 advantage. Both teams had 10 miscues, with the Lady Eagles making only 23 percent of their shots to Talladega's 33 percent.

Faulkner plays 10th-ranked Shawnee State Monday afternoon in the AUM Holiday Classic. The game is set to tip off at 4.