Box Score TALLADEGA, Ala. – Faulkner clinched the No. 2 overall seed in the SSAC tournament with a 62-47 win over Talladega Friday afternoon. The Lady Eagles trailed only briefly in the first quarter before using a 20-4 run to end the frame and take control of the game.
Evaiah Burrows hit a three with 6:48 left in the first to cut the deficit to 8-6.
Nequoia Adams followed with a three at the 5:34 mark to give Faulkner a lead it never lost.
Morgan Holland connected on a layup 27 seconds later ahead of a
Bridget Johnson make at the 4:19 mark that move the lead to 13-8.
Neely Johns and Adams then combined for three straight triples to move the advantage to 22-8.
A Shamya Loman free throw snapped the 19-0 Lady Eagle stretch before
Lanie Henderson and Johns made two more threes to end the first quarter with Faulkner up 28-12. Holland started the second quarter in the same manner, knocking down another three for the 31-12 lead.
Talladega got as close as seven late in the second quarter, but Faulkner dominated the third period 13-4 to put the game away.
"Great road win to finish our season on the road. It was a tale of two halves. The first half was lights out shooting for both teams. The second half turned into a defensive grinder. I was proud of our team for making the necessary adjustments and getting the job done," Faulkner Head Coach
Reed Sutton said.
Four Lady Eagles hit double figures in the game with 10 different players scoring.
Angela Grant paced with 14 points. Holland, Adams and Johns each added 11 points. Holland also snagged 10 rebounds to post the double-double. Freshman guard
Tati'Erra Brown also entered the game late, making her varsity debut in the contest.
"Our bench played great minutes today. Neely continues to play well and shoot it well.
Torrae Osborne, [
Ella Jane Connell], [
Bridget Johnson], and [
Lanie Henderson], all played well and there was no let down when we went deep into the bench. We will need them for a deep run in the tournament. Now we will rest up ant watch the scoreboard to see how the bracket shapes up for us," Sutton said.
The Lady Eagles hit 42.9 percent of their shots from the floor while limiting Talladega to 29.8 percent. Faulkner made nine threes at a clip of 52.9 percent while also winning the rebound battle 38-34. The Lady Eagles scored 30 points in the paint as compared to 18 by the Tornadoes while also getting a total of 20 points from their bench unit.
Faulkner wraps the regular season at 22-6 overall and 14-4 in SSAC play. It heads to the SSAC tournament next week where it will open play Thursday at a time and against an opponent yet to be determined.
