MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner built a 15-point lead in the first quarter that held until the fourth as they knocked off No. 15 Loyola 80-75 Thursday night.
"Big win for our ball club tonight. We got off to a great start and then made timely shots and got big stops to hold off a great Loyola team," Faulkner Head Coach
Reed Sutton said. "They are so explosive and tough."
Faulkner's lead sat at 10 with 9:47 to play in the game before the Wolfpack charged back. A Taylor Thomas three with 6:17 left cut it to one before
Kinlee Varnell pushed it back to three with a make in the paint.
"Kinlee was the player of the game. She was locked in on both ends of the floor," Sutton said. "She shot it well and was very competitive defensively on Cannady who is an incredible player."
Alissa O'Dell answered 17 seconds later to narrow it to one before Caitlin Travis dropped a jumper with 4:51 remaining to give Loyola a 67-66 advantage and its first lead of the night.
That mark lasted only seconds as
Nequoia Adams ran it down to the offensive end and hit a jumper to put the Lady Eagles back on top at 68-67.
"Nequoia made some tough shots to hold off Loyola runs and kept us on tempo at the end of the game," Sutton said.
Faulkner added to the lead with layups from
Neely Johns and Varnell.
Loyola got it back to within three with a Thomas layup at the 17-second mark. Adams answered with a layup to functionally polish off the win.
Faulkner shot 43.3 percent from the floor including 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Lady Eagles won the rebounding battle 43-39.
Adams topped all scorers with 24 points to go along with six assists. Varnell with 19 points and five rebounds. Holland ended up with 13 points and 15 rebounds while Johns had 11 points.
Faulkner (13-9, 9-3 SSAC) plays again Saturday when it hosts Mobile at noon.
"We are so thankful for our sixth men practice guys who prepared us well this week. We were grateful for a fantastic game day atmosphere tonight," Sutton said. "The conference is so tough with Mobile coming in Saturday. We just need to stay connected in the locker room and on the floor to keep the momentum going."
