Faulkner put together a strong first half and carried a lead to the locker room before succumbing to the pressure of Life in a 79-59 loss Saturday night. The finale of The Jimmy Faulkner Classic saw the Lady Eagles with a 39-38 lead at intermission before Life University ratcheted up the defensive pressure and forced 21 second half turnovers in the blowout win. 

"You can't really run offense if you're just going to throw them the ball. I don't know how to say it any more profound than that," Faulkner Head Coach Reed Sutton said. "We've been working so hard in preseason just trying to focus on not being a young team, just trying to be a team. Today, I think we showed that we are a young team." 

Faulkner turned the ball over 36 times in the loss and managed to put up just 16 shots from the floor in the game's second half, making only four of those field goal attempts. 

"You have to give Life so much credit for the way they competed and the defensive pressure. Give them credit for executing late and we didn't really know how to respond," Sutton said. 

The Lady Eagles rode the inside presence of Angela Grant (FR/Hoover, Ala.) in the first half, watching her pour in 13 points and grab six rebounds to anchor the team's offensive effort. As Grant got into foul trouble early in the second half and was forced to the bench with four offenses, the game turned heavily in Life's favor. 

The Running Eagles went on to tally 22 steals and out-rebound Faulkner 19-17 in the game's second half. Naomi House paced Life with 17 points. Kiara Glenn and Tierra Tullis totaled 11 apiece while Maeisha Teasley had 10. 

Ashlyn Adkins (SO/Locust Fork, Ala.) lead Faulkner for the second straight game with 14 points. Grant finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Faulkner (1-1) returns to action Tuesday night when it hosts Pensacola Christian in at 7 p.m.