TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Faulkner overcame a slow offensive start with 45 points over the middle quarters of the game and held on late to win its SSAC opener over Stillman 65-59 Tuesday night.

The Lady Eagles posted just eight points in the first quarter, making only two of their 15 field goal attempts in the frame. The second period saw Faulkner find a rhythm as it made 50 percent of its attempts including a trio of three-pointers to hang 21 points and go into halftime trailing 31-29. Defense proved the catalyst for offense in the third as Faulkner forced five
Stillman turnovers and limited the Lady Tigers to just three makes from the floor. Lanie Henderson's corner three off an Ella Jane Connell dish with 1:24 left in the period staked the Lady Eagles to a 10-point lead. Henderson stepped to the free throw line with 59 seconds remaining in the quarter to knock down three free throws and stretch the advantage to 53-42.

Stillman surged to open the fourth quarter, embarking on a 10-1 run that narrowed the gap to 54-52 with 6:17 to play.

A Morgan Holland jumper following an Angela Grant offensive rebound with 4:42 left proved the first Faulkner field goal in a span of 6:42. Amaria Strong answered with a layup at the other end before Henderson drained a triple off a Grant dime to set the score at 59-54 with 4:10. Kinlee Varnell cashed in a layup with 2:31 left to set the advantage at 61-54.

Stillman got it back within four on a Laneja Warner three with 1:16 left. Holland converted three of her four foul shot chances over the next minute to push the lead back to seven before knocking down one more with three second left to set the final score.

Faulkner turned 19 Stillman turnovers into 16 points, helping the squad to work around its own 21 turnovers. The Lady Eagles took the rebounding battle 41-37 while also shooting 30.9 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three. Faulkner also knocked down 24 of 31 free throw attempts while Stillman made four of its nine shots from the stripe.

Holland topped all scorers with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds. Nequoia Adams had 14 points and seven rebounds as well as three steals. Varnell added 11 points while Henderson had nine and Neely Johns finished with eight.

Faulkner (4-1, 1-0 SSAC) returns to action Saturday when it travels to Dillard. The Lady Eagles' tilt with Talladega that had been scheduled for Thursday night is postponed due to illness within the Tornadoes' program.