MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Reserve point guard Shelby Williams scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth quarter as Faulkner battled past Brenau 64-58 here Thursday night in a Southern States Athletic Conference game at Tine Davis Gymnasium.

All three of Williams' baskets in the final 10 minutes tied the game, and her free throw at the 3:45 mark gave the Lady Eagles a one-point lead. Reed Sutton's team never trailed again in winning its seventh league game in its last eight tries to improve to 7-5 in the conference and 11-11 overall. After Autumn Dodson's fifth 3-pointer tied the game at 57 with 2:32 to play, Faulkner held the Golden Tigers without a basket the rest of the way. China Leary and Faith LeGate both made baskets down the stretch, and the Lady Eagles were just good enough from the free-throw line to slam the door.

"We kind of muddled our way through that one, but when you get a win in this conference you take it, no matter what," Sutton said. "We needed some aggressive play, and I thought Shelby was excellent for us. All of our points were big points, and we needed each of them. I thought we did a really good job defensively in the first half, but they started hitting some shots that brought them back. We answered when the game was on the line, though, and I'm really proud of this team for that."

Faulkner led by nine points at the half and quickly built the advantage to 12 early in the third quarter. A 17-3 stretch for the Golden Tigers, sparked by Autumn Dodson's trio of 3-pointers, gave the visitors a two-point lead late in the period. A pair of Faith LeGate free throws in the final minute tied the game at 45, setting the stage for the decisive fourth quarter.

Faulkner might have been able to take control earlier had it been more successful from the free-throw line, making only 14 of its 30 attempts. The Lady Eagles were also outrebounded 49-39, allowing Brenau 16 offensive boards in the second half. Still, Faulkner made the plays when needed, and connected on three of its final four tries from the stripe to slam the door.

LeGate had 18 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Lady Eagles, while Leary added 11 points for the Lady Eagles. Olivia Adamson pulled down 12 rebounds to aid the Faulkner effort. Dodson's 15 points were tops for Brenau (10-10  overall, 5-7 SSAC), which got 11 from Kalin Williams and 10 from Dominique Patrick. The Lady Eagles shot 44 percent from the field, while holding the Golden Tigers to just a 29-percent shooting night.

Neither team led by more than four points in the opening quarter, with the first 10 minutes ending in a 17-all tie. Leary, LeGate and Inga Armstrong sparked the Lady Eagles' second quarter run, with the threesome combining for 15 of Faulkner's 18 points in the period that resulted in a 35-26 advantage at the break. The Golden Tigers failed to score in the final three minutes of the half.

The Lady Eagles host Middle Georgia State in another SSAC game Saturday afternoon, Tipoff at Tine Davis Gymnasium is set for 2.