MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner put on a show for the young fans in attendance on Elementary Day Friday as the Lady Eagles dropped Truett McConnell 88-51 to open the season.
Faulkner, which led for 38 of 40 minutes in the contest, dominated the paint from the outset. The Lady Eagles outscored TMU 58-26 in the paint while also winning the rebound battle 44-25. "I think defensive rebounding was really critical," Head Coach
Reed Sutton said." "Fortunately we had a lot of possessions in the game so we were able to overcome some turnovers." A
Morgan Holland make off an
Evaiah Burrows assist with 7:04 left in the first marked the final lead change of the day and sparked a 19-7 run to end the first quarter. Faulkner went on to win the second quarter 19-11 and the third 24-17. With the starters out for much of the fourth quarter, the Lady Eagles managed 20-9 run in the frame to set the final margin.
Freshman
Lanie Henderson starred off the bench for Faulkner, knocking down four shots from beyond the arc to anchor a 15-point performance. "Freshman in her first game just came in on fire and just changing the dynamic for us," Sutton said.
Angela Grant notched her 28th career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds to go along with three blocks in 25 minutes of play. Holland and
Nequoia Adams each added 12 points while Adams also contributed six assists and three steals. Burrows scored 11 to round out the quintet of Lady Eagles in double figures.
The occasion marked the first matchup between the two programs in a decade and moved Faulkner to 4-0 in the lifetime series. Faulkner (1-0) returns to action Tuesday night at 6 p.m. when it hosts Pensacola Christian.
