MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Thomas opened the game with an intensity that Faulkner struggled to match for much of the evening before finally pulling away late for an 85-77 victory Thursday night. In a reschedule from a game originally set for two nights earlier, the Lady Eagles put up 27 in the fourth quarter to overcome a brief deficit and pull their record to even on the season.
"Credit to Thomas tonight for playing very hard and very inspired. They came in confident, competed well, and shot the ball well. We didn't defend well enough to shut the faucet off," Faulkner Coach
Reed Sutton said. "I was not excited about our offensive performance in the first half.
Neely Johns kept us in the game shooting the three well, but we really wanted to do a better job as a unit attacking and yet we relied on perimeter shooting. We felt like we had a big advantage at the rim and proved that in the second half."
The Nighthawks found themselves playing catch-up for much of the evening before a Jade Studamire three to open the fourth sparked a run. A Dejah Wilson triple tied the game with 7:25 to play and a Kennedy Collins jumper put the visitors in the lead at 66-64 with 7:07 left.
After a timeout, Faulkner stormed back with a 9-0 run that turned the game and pushed
Reed Sutton's squad to a 73-66 lead. The pivotal sequence came when Faulkner took over possession at the 3:07 mark. Two offensive rebounds allowed the Lady Eagles to run the clock all the way down to 1:55 before the Nighthawks got the ball back.
"We got good bench play today from Evaiah (Burrows), Ella Jane (Connell), and Bridget (Johnson). I thought they all sparked us tonight. I was excited how we finished the game," Sutton said. "We executed well and managed the clock well. We got the shots we wanted and finished well at the line to hold them off."
Faulkner won the rebound battle 41-39 while making 49.3 percent of its shots from the floor.
Neely Johns matched a career high with 23 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Nequoia Adams had 20 points and four assists.
Morgan Holland ended the night with 16 points and nine boards.
"Every conference win is a good win and you have to hold serve at home. We are happy about that, but we will need to defend much better against a tough Point team on Saturday to keep moving up the standings."
Faulkner (9-9, 5-3 SSAC) hosts Point University Saturday at noon.
