MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner's short-handed women's basketball team fought gallantly here Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament, but Auburn Montgomery's potent duo of Jatoria Carter and Reggotta Craig were too much in the second half as the Warhawks pulled away from the Lady Eagles for a 67-51 victory at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex.

Trailing by only two points at the half, Carter and Craig each had eight points in the decisive third quarter that saw Faulkner score only nine as a team. Faulkner cut the deficit to six midway through the fourth on an Erichea Barnes' 3-pointer but could get no closer as Carter, the SSAC's Player of the Year, slammed the door with 10 points down the stretch. The Lady Eagles were playing without two starters and four reserves who were serving the final game of a suspension resulting from an altercation that occured last week against Coastal Georgia.

I was really proud of the effort and the energy the players we had available showed tonight," Faulkner head coach Reed Sutton said. "We gave it everything we had, but Carter is the Player of the Year for a reason. She made all the plays when they needed them, and Craig was huge too around the basket."

Carter finished with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Craig added 20 points and 17 rebounds. Kaylan WIthrow scored all nine of her points in the first half on three 3-pointers. Junior forward Faith LeGate's 18 points and nine rebounds led Faulkner, who ends its season 13-16. Barnes, a senior, added 16 points and eight rebounds in her final collegiate game. Faulkner other two seniors, Kylie Moore and Paige Seaton, added six and three points, respectively.