BY JOEL SELLERS

FAULKNER SPORTS NETWORK

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner's offense put on a show in the second half  and the Lady Eagles held on for a 69-66 victory over the No. 17 Loyola Wolf Pack at Tine Davis Gymnasium Thursday evening.

Coach Reed Sutton called the victory "a nice win for our guys. It's time,. It was time for us to win one of those and I'm proud of them that we got it tonight."

After a first half that ended with a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Tay Cannon to give the visitors a 30-27 lead going into the locker room, Faulkner took the advantage 35-34 with 7:18 left in the third quarter on a bucket by Angela Grant (SO/Hoover, Ala.). The Eagles never trailed again in the game.

Ashlyn Adkins (JR/Locust Fork, Ala.), Valentina Klocker (SO/Salzburg, Austria), and Kayla Harbin (SR/Hartselle, Ala.) were responsible for the remainder of Faulkner's points in the quarter, giving the home team a 52-48 lead heading into the final period. Grant scored the next eight points for the Lady Eagles on three baskets and a pair of free throws. After a steal by Harbin, an Olivia Colson (SO/Thompson's Station, Tenn.) 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 6:02 remaining resulted in the largest lead for either team at 63-51. When Loyola rallied and cut the lead to three points with under a minute left to play, a block and two free throws by Adkins put her team up 69-64 to essentially put the game out of reach.

Grant led the Eagles with 20 points, 12 rebounds and two assists. Adkins also had an excellent game, scoring 17 points along with seven rebounds, three blocks and five assists. Harbin added 10 points five rebounds, two steals and four assists. Additionally, Channing Gafford (JR/Athens, Ala.) had nine points and eight rebounds. The Lady Eagles shot 47.3 percent from the floor, compared to just 31 percent for the Wolf Pack. The home team also connected on 47.1 percent of their free throws, which would prove to be crucial to the result of the game.  

Faulkner returns home on Saturday, Jan. 4, to take on William Carey. The Eagles improve to 11-5 on the season, and 1-1 in conference play.