MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner utilized dominant performances from the offensive and defensive attacks to hold on and finish off its Senior Day game with an 80-71 victory over Mobile in Tine Davis Gymnasium on Saturday and to clinch the No. 2 seed in the SSAC Tournament next week.

Five Lady Eagles scored in double figures in a 42.6% shooting day, including 40.9% from three and 73.1% from the free throw line. On the other side, Mobile was held to just 35.1%, 27.6% and 64.7%, respectively. Faulkner never shot below 35% in a quarter, while the Rams did not break that mark in any period but a high-scoring third that they took 26-21 by shooting 62.5%, in which the Eagles had to withstand a strong rally. The hosts cracked down in response to this charge by the visitors, as well as another in the first half of the second period, by way of tenacious defense, holding the latter to just 20% from the field and 0-for-6 from long-range in the final quarter.

With two super seniors and four of the five Lady Eagle starters among them, this year's star-studded class that has collectively rewritten the program record book was recognized after the game. The group of six, consisting of Ashlyn Adkins, Micala Fisanick, Channing Gafford, Angela Grant, Olivia Colson and Megan Wilkinson, holds at least two of the top 10 spots in every individual program career record list. They were honored along with JV team members L.A. Parker, who appeared in one game with the varsity before her graduation in December and is currently a volunteer assistant, and Danielle Sager as well as two long-time student assistants to the team, Jenna Berglund and Jaden House.   
    
In her last ride in Tine Davis, Adkins, the program's all-time leader in points, assists, three-pointers and steals and second-place holder in blocks and free throw percentage along with other marks, hit 24 points in a fitting swan song. Second-year freshman Morgan Holland, the lone underclassman in the lineup, racked up 14 points and three steals. Fisanick, sitting in fifth place in program scoring and third in thefts and free throw percentage, tallied 10 points, five assists and two steals. Grant, who owns fifth in career rebounds, third in offensive boards and blocks and tops in field goal percentage despite never playing a full season for Faulkner due to injuries, showed out once again with 12 boards, 10 points and five blocks. Gafford added six points and five boards, and she is currently seventh in program points, eighth in rebounds and third in triples, marks that would be higher if counting her two seasons at the community college level. Colson added five rebounds to her career that saw her enter sixth place in offensive boards. True freshman Nequoia Adams poured in 13 points off the bench as a sign of the Lady Eagles' future.

A close first period led to a 21-17 Faulkner advantage on Grant's layup with 8:43 left until halftime, but Mobile took the lead for the third and final time in the game with an 8-0 run on two threes by Kelsey Pinera and Erica Jones's layup. The response, however, was a 19-8 run that took up the rest of the quarter. Two free throws by Fisanick after Grant stole and fed to her and four points by Holland that included a triple off an offensive board from Fisanick gave the lead back to the Lady Eagles. Seven points from Adkins, including free throws after she had it stolen but came up with a huge block and a three after Gafford came down with a Mobile pass, four more from Holland and a roller on an Adams jumper staked Faulkner to a 40-33 halftime lead.

Gafford hit a three on the second half's opening possession to stretch the lead to 10 points, and it stayed at that margin with 7:12 on the clock after a trade of scores. The Rams weren't going anywhere, putting together a 13-3 run to tie the game at 50 apiece, and they would have taken the lead if not for a missed free throw. The Lady Eagles took the lead back for good on a layup by Adams through contact and the free throw after the assist from Gafford was tipped. The lead was narrowed to one, but Adams claimed a steal and tipped it to Adkins, who served it back to Adams on the other end by delivering a pass through a defender's legs. Adams then dished to Gafford outside the arc, who sunk the triple for a 56-52 lead. With 1:10 to go in the quarter, Adkins made a three herself after she had received the inbound and set a screen, and Adams added another layup through a foul. The last five points of the quarter were scored by the visitors, including a buzzer-beater by Jones from just inside half court after stealing an inbound.

The first buckets of the fourth quarter came from Holland and Adkins to respond to this rally before the Rams narrowed the score to 65-62. The margin was volleyed back and forth until D'Mya Ferguson's second consecutive offensive board and layup brought it within one. Following an Adkins free throw, Holland came up with a steal and Grant finished at the rim off the pick and roll and Adkins added a layup of her own to help put the game out of reach with a 74-68 lead at the 3:06 mark. With 1:04 remaining, Grant came down with the defensive rebound and was whistled while trying to wrest the ball away, but Fisanick made the last big play in her final home collegiate home game with a leaping catch on the Mobile inbound for the takeaway. Free throws ultimately set the final score.

The win, combined with other results around the conference, completes the Lady Eagles' improbable run to second place in the tournament after finding itself in last place with a 1-4 conference record and back-to-back losses to Blue Mountain and first-place Loyola in January. Because of the season series between Faulkner and Talladega, the two tied for the second-best record behind Loyola, being evenly split by the same point margins, Faulkner claims the seed by virtue of a better mark against the four teams that share the third-best in the conference: William Carey, Stillman, Mobile and Brewton-Parker. The Lady Eagles (16-12, 9-7 SSAC) will now face the seventh-seeded Lady Barons once again on February 24 in downtown Montgomery at 4:30 in the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl. With a win there, the next opponent would be the winner of Talladega against Mobile.