CLEVELAND, Ga. – Faulkner pulled away in the second half for its third straight win Saturday as it polished off a 66-49 victory over Truett McConnell. The teams traded the lead six times in the first half until an
Olivia Chadwell layup with 3:32 to go in the second quarter tied the game.
Ruthie Smith followed with a make at the 2:24 mark to put Faulkner on top. The Lady Eagle advantage, which sat at three points at halftime, blossomed to seven quickly as Smith opened the third quarter on a personal 6-2 run. An old-fashioned three-point play by
Nequoia Adams stretched it to 10 before TMU fired back with a mini run. Faulkner answered with its bench unit as
Mary Alice Murner drained a three off an
Ashlyn Plott assist ahead of an
Ella Jane Connell jumper that moved the lead to 11. Smith cashed in after a Plott steal to move the mark to 13 with 3:41 left in the frame.
Faulkner put the game away with a 16-4 run to open the fourth quarter, stretching the lead to as many as 22 after makes from
Bridget Johnson and Plott.
"I really thought today would come down to points in the paint. Truett has two fantastic post players that finish well inside. So, I am really happy we were able to establish inside play in the third quarter with Ruthie and Mo and execute our defensive game plan against Alexis Brewster and Alysee Dobbs," Faulkner Head Coach
Reed Sutton said. "We got big threes from (Murner and Plott) against their zone that held them off. I thought Ella Jane stepped up well in adding some of (
Evaiah Burrows') minutes so we could nurse E's hamstring and have the break for recovery."
The Lady Eagles held the home team to just 33.3 percent shooting from the floor and held them to 21.4 percent from beyond the arc while forcing 13 turnovers. Faulkner also dominated the boards at a 45-37 clip and controlled points in the paint 38-20. Sutton's team also shared the ball to the tune of 16 assists on 27 made baskets.
Smith and Adams topped the team with 14 points apiece. Smith added seven rebounds while Adams had four assists.
Morgan Holland notched 13 points and eight rebounds in the effort.
"We are really excited about going into the break on a winning streak. I really feel our team turning the corner defensively and in rebounding. We are taking great pride in executing a defensive game plan right now," Sutton said. "Truett has a nice core of freshman guards that shoot it, have length, and compete. Coach (Tiek) Fields has made great strides since our blowout win at home against them last season. We are thrilled with getting some momentum going into the holiday and hope to come out on the other side even stronger."
Faulkner (6-8, 2-3 SSAC) gets a break until a Dec. 30 trip to Blue Mountain Christian that closes out 2023.
