BY JOEL SELLERS

FAULKNER SPORTS NETWORK

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner held a 23-9 lead after the first quarter, but Brewton-Parker outscored the Lady Eagles in each of the final three periods and won 73-69 at Tine Davis Gymnasium on Play4Kay Night. The visiting Lady Barons took just their second lead of the contest, 69-67, on two free throws by Trakeirra Head with 50 seconds left in the game. The teams then traded buckets before two Sy-Marieona Williams free throws made it a two-score game, which ultimately sealed the deal for the visitors.

After the Barons scored on their first possession, Faulkner thoroughly dominated the first quarter, going on a 19-3 run and making 11 of their 20 shot attempts in the period. After the Lady Eagles pulled ahead 27-11 with 9:15 until halftime, Brewton-Parker went on a 15-6 run to pull within seven points. The Barons' last four points in the half came on free throws, making the halftime score 38-32 in favor of Faulkner. The Lady Eagles came out strong in the third quarter, as the home team went back ahead by double digits on three occasions. With 6:26 on the clock, after a missed 3-pointer by Micala Fisanick (SO/Troy, Ala.), Channing Gafford (JR/Athens, Ala.) got the offensive rebound and the basket to stretch the home team's lead to 45-35. A reverse layup by Ashlyn Adkins (JR/Locust Fork, Ala.) staked her team to a 50-39 advantage with 4:11 remaining in the period, the largest lead they would hold for the rest of the game.

After each team made a field goal, Brewton-Parker closed to within three points at the end of the quarter by virtue of a 13-6 run. Faulkner appeared poised to pull out a win with a Fisanick basket making the score 67-61 with 3:41 left in the contest. However, the visitors made the next three scores, the latest one coming after an offensive foul by Fisanick, tying the game and setting up the final sequence.    

When asked about the difference in the halves, Faulkner Head Coach Reed Sutton said, "Well, number one, they're a good team. And, you know, it's every game that you play in the conference, everybody knows each other, the runs are going to happen. We're going to be trying to extend our run as much as possible. They're going to try to extend their run as much as possible. And at the end, it just came down to who was going to execute, and they out-executed us."

Faulkner made 41.2 percent of their field goals, compared to only 36.2 percent for Brewton-Parker and each team only made five of their 3-pointers. However, the Barons won the rebounding battle 49-33, and gathered 20 offensive boards and 24 second chance points. By comparison, the Eagles only had four points off of offensive rebounds.

Adkins registered 15 points, two rebounds, two steals and six assists. Gafford had 13 points, five boards and two steals. Fisanick scored 12 points to go with two rebounds and two assists. Kayla Harbin (SR/Hartselle, Ala.) was responsible for nine rebounds as well as seven points and three assists. Olivia Colson (SO/Thompson's Station, Tenn.) came off the bench and contributed six points and four boards. Joy Hadley led the Barons with 18 points, seven boards and five blocks. Eanna Sims got 13 points and two rebounds, while Williams tallied 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Eden Duckworth racked up 11 boards as well as 11 points, two steals and two assists.       

The Lady Eagles have now lost their fourth straight matchup and fall to 14-11 and 4-7 against the SSAC. Faulkner returns to action at Tine Davis on Saturday against Florida College.