MONTGOMERY, Ala. - It may have only counted as an exhibition for Faulkner, but don't tell that to the Lady Eagles.
In the ninth all-time meeting between NAIA Faulkner (5-1) and NCAA Division I Alabama State (1-4) in the Dunn-Oliver Acadome, it was the Lady Eagles who prevailed 77-71 for the program's first win over ASU or any DI program. The closest they had previously come to knocking off the Hornets was in November 2013, immediately following the opening weekend of the fourth season in program history, when Faulkner narrowly fell 63-60 in Alabama State's season opener.
Faulkner dominated on offense by shooting 49.1% overall and 38.1% from three and outscoring the Hornets in the paint 34-26. The Lady Eagles' efforts were propped up by a 75% third quarter and 50% long-range shooting in the first and third quarters. They held the hosts to 39.7% shooting overall and 31% from three.
44 of the Hornets' points were scored by Shamya Reid and Charlese McClendon, who scored 24 and 20, respectively. They were two of just seven ASU players to enter the scoring column, and the next closest had nine.
Three Lady Eagles scored in double digits, and six of them shot at least 50% individually. Ruthie Smith was a force to be reckoned with, bullying the Hornets to the tune of 19 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Keyarra Scottland racked up 17 points. Avery Rogers scored 10 points with three assists. Morgan Holland DeWitt left the Acadome under much better circumstances after suffering a season-ending injury last year, as she tallied eight points and seven boards with a block and a steal. Grace Anne Rose also scored eight and Audrey Blaine added seven. Rogers, Brett Douglas, Addison Cantrell and Sarah Wisniowski each put up a trio of boards.
Faulkner turned defense into offense after the Hornets won the opening tip, as DeWitt earned a steal and assisted Rogers for a three on the Lady Eagles' opening possession. Rogers then played helper on Ruthie Smith's jumper to tie it 5-5 and then scored on a tip-in off her own miss to give her team the lead through the end of the first quarter, helped by a pair of triples by Scottland and one by Blaine. The Hornets would retake the lead twice before halftime before Faulkner led 32-31 going into the locker room.
DeWitt and Rogers scored triples to open the second half. ASU broke off a 6-0 run to take a 43-42 lead and later tied the game one last time. Smith reclaimed the advantage for her team with layups both times. Narrowly leading 51-50 with 2:24 left in the third quarter, Faulkner scored the last eight points of the period on layups by Smith and Rogers and a pair of fast-break layups by Ella Jane Connell off Smith steals.
The lead would stay at double digits for most of the fourth quarter, but the Hornets made it close with four threes by Reid in the last 3:30, the last of which came with 12 seconds left to draw within 75-71. The Lady Eagles responded each time. The first answer was on a pair of free throws by Rogers thanks to a Hornet technical foul. From there, it was all Scottland as she scored a layup with 1:56 to go and then closed out the game after the last two threes with four points from the charity stripe.
While not counting in the overall record, the win provides a huge feather in the Lady Eagles' cap as they begin SSAC play this week. They host Blue Mountain Christian to open the conference slate on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 5:30 pm.
