TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Faulkner led Stillman 24-9 after one quarter and seemed to be on its way to a convincing win in its final road nonconference test of the regular season. After the Tigers stormed back to tie the game going into halftime and the Lady Eagles threatened to pull away with its third quarter performance, the hosts had another strong performance in an even-number quarter to tie it back and take their first lead since the opening minutes. However, a Sydney Steward four-point play proved to be the winning margin and Ruthie Smith capped off another dominant performance with a steal with one second left to help Faulkner (10-2, 3-0 SSAC) survive the pesky Tigers (5-5, 2-1 HBCUAC) 56-55 at Birthright Alumni Hall on Tuesday night.
In what would become a theme for the night, the first four possessions ended in turnovers. Morgan Holland DeWitt had to flush an inauspicious start as she had the Lady Eagles' two turnovers and a foul on the ensuing Stillman possession that put the Tigers on the board first via free throws.
From there, the floodgates opened as Faulkner ripped off a 12-0 run with scores on five straight trips to start a quarter in which it shot 60% overall and 75% from three compared to a 15.38% Stillman mark in which its only two makes were from three. Brett Douglas tied the game on a layup, and Smith gave her team a lead that would stand until the fourth period with a jumper. Avery Rogers and DeWitt sunk consecutive triples, and Keyarra Scottland laid it in for a 10-point lead. In response to Stillman threes in the next two minutes, Grace Anne Rose and Ella Jane Connell drained triples of their own before Smith drained a pair of long-range shots on Faulkner's next two trips after Connell made hers.
From there, Stillman flipped the game on its head in outscoring Faulkner 22-7 in the second quarter as it outshot the latter 47.37% to 11.11%, with Faulkner only making one shot in the period. The quarter began with a 16-3 Tiger run to draw the deficit to 27-25. Steward broke the skid with a triple off a Scottland steal before Mya Jones of Stillman did the same in response. Rose restored the margin to three points with a free throw. Tanyah Lockhart then stole the ball from Scottland on Faulkner's final two possessions of the first half, the second of which came as the Eagles were playing for the final shot and ended in Danyjhia Williams banking in a buzzer-beating three.
The visitors responded with the first nine points of the second half. Douglas scored a jumper off a Scottland theft. Smith scored on a trey and a tip-in following offensive boards, the first coming after her miss at the free throw line. DeWitt laid it up with six minutes left in the quarter for either team's largest lead of the half at 40-31.
The Tigers came out firing once again in the fourth quarter with a 14-2 run that gave them their first lead since the opening minutes at 52-48 with four minutes left. Rose tied the game back with a free throw and a triple off a Douglas steal. Chayce Matthews grabbed the offensive board and scored a jumper through the contact by Scottland and the free throw to restore the Stillman advantage.
With 1:31 left, DeWitt grabbed the board off the Tiger miss before Coach Jacob Roark called timeout to set up the play. Scottland found Steward in the corner as the shot clock ran down. Steward drained the trey through the foul to tie it up and then the free throw to set the final score. DeWitt would grab the board on Stillman's last shot of the game with 43 seconds left. On the Tigers' final possession, Smith deflected and stole a pass at the elbow with one tick left and called timeout before she grabbed the inbound from Steward and avoided contact until time ran out on this one.
All told, the Lady Eagles won the shooting margin by just enough at 34.5% to 33.9% and from three 43.5% to 40% to overcome a poor night at the charity stripe with just a 53.3% output. While getting outrebounded 44-34 and committing 19 turnovers, Faulkner forced Stillman into 25 turnovers. The former took points off turnovers 16-13, fast break points 14-10 and bench points 25-20.
Smith registered her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with four steals. DeWitt put up nine points and eight boards. Steward scored nine and Rose eight. Douglas led the team with two blocks, as Scottland and Savannah Crimm each added one. Scottland had a team-leading four assists, and she and Connell both came up with three steals.
Faulkner heads to Pulaski, Tenn., for its next contest as it plays in the return trip to UT Southern on Saturday at noon.
