MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner found its stride late Saturday as it battled out of a deficit to win 80-77 over Mobile in a back-and-forth overtime affair.

"I'm excited for our players. They showed a lot of heart in pulling out today's game," Faulkner Head Coach Reed Sutton said. "The overtime game didn't surprise me. Mobile is always tough and we went down to the wire at their place. I was surprised, however, at the offensive shootout considering the defensive prowess of both teams."

The Lady Eagles flipped the game in overtime with a 6-0 run that saw Nequoia Adams score two buckets and dish off to Angela Grant on a pick-and-roll play for another. The stretch moved the Faulkner lead to six. Mary Denman Luker cashed in a MacKenzie White pass for a three to narrow the Mobile deficit to three with 1:10 left. Adams then hit Grant for another bucked before Luker answered from deep again to slice it to two. Mobile got another look at it down three with 13 seconds to go but could not cash in the opportunity as Faulkner snapped a two-game SSAC skid.

The Lady Eagles trailed by eight with 1:36 left in the third quarter before an 11-2 run changed the complexion of the contest. A Kinlee Varnell free throw along with baskets from Adams and Neely Johns narrowed the margin to three by the end of the third. An Alesha Temple make pushed it back to five before Adams hit a three and Johns got three the old-fashioned way to put Faulkner on top 57-56.

The Faulkner advantage lasted only 18 seconds as Mobile took it back on a Luker make. The Rams got the advantage as high as four in the fourth quarter but the Lady Eagles cut it to one on three separate occasions with a steal and transition bucket from Johns cutting it to 69-68. Adams' free throw with 19 seconds left in regulation tied the game, forcing overtime.

Faulkner shot 47.8 percent from the floor and scored 52 points in the paint in the effort.

Grant topped all the Lady Eagles with 21 points and 12 rebounds for her 38th career double-double. Adams and Johns had 17 points apiece while Varnell finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

"It was good to have Ang back! She had a great game. I thought Kin played great on both ends today. Nequoia led our team well and stepped up in the second half on both ends," Sutton said. "Mobile is a great team and they will be a tough out in the tournament coming up."

Faulkner (18-6, 10-4 SSAC) returns to action Thursday when it travels to Middle Georgia State.