Box Score MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A cold snap late in the fourth quarter spelled doom for Faulkner Saturday night as it lost to Stillman 63-57 in the Jimmy Faulkner Classic. The Lady Eagles hit just five shots from the floor in the final frame and struggled to find any offensive rhythm down the stretch as a tie game slipped out of reach.

A Grace Anne Rose free throw early in the fourth put Faulkner up 44-43 before the teams proceeded to trade punches and volley the lead. The Lady Eagles trailed by two following a Jaida Minter three before Dee Guinn took advantage of a Ruthie Smith seal in the post, driving to the rim and laying it in to tie the game at 46. A Limaya Batimba jumper put Stillman back on top with 8:06 left before Morgan Holland DeWitt drained a triple off a Rose assist to vault Faulkner ahead 49-48 at the 8:06 mark.

DeWitt then dished off to Smith on the next possession as the sophomore post rained in a three for the 52-48 lead. Sydney Steward then grabbed a defensive rebound and started the fastbreak where she found Rose running the floor and dished off for the layup and the 54-48 advantage.

From there, the Tigers asserted themselves, embarking on a 15-3 run to end the game and wrest away a non-conference victory. A DeWitt free throw at the 5:15 mark proved the last point Faulkner scored for nearly four minutes.

When Steward dished to Smith for a post make at the 1:18 mark to tie the game at 57, the Lady Eagles looked to take the lead with the ensuing free throw. That shot proved off the mark and sent Stillman the other way with the ball and a chance to take the lead. A Minter step-back jumper put the Tigers up 59-57 with 59 seconds to play. Hannah Boykin-Williams later converted a critical and-one opportunity to move the advantage to 62-57 with 21 seconds left. Minter made a free throw with four seconds left to set the final margin.

The Tigers shot 38.8 percent from the floor in the game while Faulkner hit just 31.7 percent of its field goal chances. Stillman also won the rebounding battle 43-40.
Smith topped all scorers with 20 points and seven rebounds. DeWitt ended the night with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Steward finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Faulkner (1-1) plays Monday night in an exhibition contest at Alabama State University.