BY JOEL SELLERS

FAULKNER SPORTS NETWORK

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner rode a 16-0 run in the final 6:11 to put away Middle Georgia State 71-56 at Tine Davis Gymnasium Saturday. Destiny Kincaide made a 3-pointer for the visitors with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter to stake her team to a 56-55 lead. However, that was the Knights' last score of the day and Micala Fisanick (SO/Troy, Ala.)'s basket with 6:11 on the clock gave the Lady Eagles the lead for the remainder of the contest.

"We got 18 consecutive stops to finish that game, so 18 times they came down and got nothing out of it," Faulkner Head Coach Reed Sutton said of his team's strong showing at the end. "And again, we really didn't shoot it very well. We were able to find other ways, but at the end of the game, I think we just had more energy in that last five minutes than they did."

With 6:15 left in the first quarter, the Knights claimed an 8-2 lead on Jessica Belcher's 3-point shot. Faulkner responded with three consecutive 3-pointers, two by Megan Wilkinson (SO/Lumberton, Texas) and the other by Ashlyn Adkins (JR/Locust Fork, Ala.). Leading 13-12 with 3:08 left in the period, Wilkinson tallied another shot from deep and Olivia Colson (SO/Thompson's Station, Tenn.) added a basket of her own. Adkins scored the Eagles' last five points of the quarter, the first of them a 3-pointer after Valentina Klocker (SO/Salzburg, Austria) got an offensive rebound. Adkins made the long-range bucket as the shot clock hit zero. The second shot came after Kayla Harbin (SR/Hartselle, Ala.)'s block and subsequent rebound. The sequence gave the home team its largest lead to that point, a 23-14 advantage with a minute remaining in the quarter.  

The Lady Eagles registered a 37.5 percent mark on field goal attempts, compared to 28.4 percent by Middle Georgia State. However, the key stat of the game was Faulkner outrebounding the visitors 52-39, with 14 of those coming on the offensive end. As a result, the Eagles got 13 second-chance points in the contest.

Channing Gafford (JR/Athens, Ala.) scored 19 points and totaled  five boards, five assists and two steals. Adkins was not far behind with 19 points, four rebounds and two steals of her own. Colson racked up a career high 13 rebounds to go with eight points, while Klocker gathered in seven rebounds. Harbin logged four points, eight boards and four assists.

Joy Sadler tallied 19 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals for the Knights. Daisja Butts registered 10 points and eight boards while Kincaide had eight points, three rebounds and three assists. Belcher was responsible for seven points, three rebounds, two assists and four steals. Rykia Pennamon and Tra'Ceria Dunn each had seven boards.

With the win, Faulkner ups its record to 16-11 and 6-7 in conference play. The Lady Eagles go on the road for their next two games against No. 16 Loyola and William Carey next week, both of whom they defeated at home in January.