MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner (16-4, 8-2 SSAC) entered the second quarter down 20-18, but allowed just 32 points throughout the final three quarters and outshot and outrebounded Life to win 61-52 at Tine Davis Gymnasium on Thursday night and avenge a road loss.
"It was a nice win for our team," Coach
Reed Sutton said. "Life plays extremely hard and competes on both ends of the floor. We need to clean up our turnovers and first-quarter defense so we can keep playing well."
The Running Eagles converted buckets on its first three possessions of the game before Faulkner had made one, but the Lady Eagles rallied after almost every Life score to get within one score. After
Neely Johns tied the game at 16 with a triple, the visitors scored the next two buckets before
Morgan Holland made a hook shot with five seconds left in the quarter to respond.
The Lady Eagles used great ball movement to capitalize on its first three possessions of the second period with two layups from
Angela Grant and one from Holland to go up 24-20. They used this momentum to take a 34-30 halftime lead.
Life briefly tied the game back with baskets on its first two second-half drives, but Grant cashed in another layup with 8:45 on the clock to put her team ahead for good.
Kinlee Varnell followed just over a minute later by stealing and scoring through the contact. A Running Eagle bucket with 7:17 left in the third got the visitors within two,
Nequoia Adams responded on the ensuing possession with a floater. Varnell followed with another bucket while absorbing the foul off a steal by Holland. Faulkner went up 42-36, and the final result was all but sealed.
Faulkner won the rebounding battle 47-37. The host Eagles also took points in the paint 40-32 and points off turnovers 12-7. In converting 37.5% of their field goals and 76.9% of their free throws, the effort was enough to overshadow a poor shooting night from beyond the arc. Faulkner claimed a higher shooting percentage in all three categories.
Grant made her mark on the game, as she finished with 19 rebounds and 16 points, good for her ninth double-double of the season and her fourth in five contests. With a pair of blocks, she upped the program's all-time mark in the category to 128, as she already surpassed Brittney Carter's career mark of 116 in the win at Mobile.
"Ang really played a great game," Sutton said. "She was very efficient offensively and cleaned up on the glass."
Adams poured in 14 points, seven assists and two steals. Holland tallied 12 points and five rebounds, and Varnell and Johns each scored seven points. Tanit Calsapeu was the lone scorer that reached double figures for Life, and only Fapou Semebene hit double digits in boards.
"I thought Kinlee did a great job on Semebene, who is one of the top players in the league, and made her work for everything," Sutton stated. "We got great bench contributions today from Neely, [
Lanie Henderson], [
Ella Jane Connell] and [
Bridget Johnson]."
With its winning streak now at five games after three consecutive losses that began with the one at Life, Faulkner stays home for its next contest on January 24 against Blue Mountain Christian.
