MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Top-seeded and 21st-ranked Martin Methodist (26-6) road a strong first half to a sizable lead and never trailed en route to a 69-61 victory over fourth-seeded Faulkner (25-6) here in the Southern States Athletic Conference semifinals at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex this evening.

The Lady Eagles shot just 16 percent from the field in the first half and 31 percent from the free throw line. All shooting figures improved in the second half, however, with the fourth quarter registering as a triumph for Faulkner.

The in-town team scored 57 percent of its points in the final 10 minutes of play. The Lady Eagles caught fire from behind the arc in the waning moments, cutting the RedHawk lead that once sat at 25 points, to just seven. But the surge came too late to alter the eventual outcome.

"We did a good job playing aggressive in the fourth quarter," said head coach Reed Sutton after the game. "You wish we would have started the game with that level of intensity. When you play a team like Martin Methodist, you can't beat yourself, they're good enough to do that. I was very happy with how we played late. We showed a lot of grit and a lot of heart."

The ultimate driving force in the contest was the RedHawks' Nicky Head who flirted with a triple-double performance. The forward tallied 20 points, 13 boards and nine blocks, all court highs.

Kayla Tillman led the Faulkner attack with 14 points, while Chelsea Burt and Nicole Shirley added 11 and 10 each, respectively. Shirley also had seven rebounds and Burt had four.

It was Faulkner's second consecutive semifinal appearance at the event. The Lady Eagles clipped Martin Methodist in overtime in the quarterfinals here last year. The 25-6 record on the year is Faulkner's best to date.