MONTGOMERY, Ala. – It took 50 minutes and two overtimes but Faulkner made Senior Night a lasting memory with a 72-63 victory over Blue Mountain Christian Thursday night. The game saw the Lady Eagles with control of the ball at the end of regulation when a
Nequoia Adams turnaround drew iron and caromed off. Faulkner had possession of the ball again at the end of the first overtime when
Dee Guinn's three missed at the buzzer.
Charnita Brooks opened the second overtime period with a layup to put Blue Mountain Christian up 63-61. That bucket proved to be the final points of the night for the Lady Toppers.
Sarah Wisniowski answered the call on the other end with a make off the glass from the left block when she cashed in an Adams pass. After a BMC turnover on the other end, Guinn buried a three from the right wing to put Faulkner up 66-63 with 3:20 left.
With 2:10 to go, BMC guard Crystin Guy attacked the basket from the left side and skied for a layup as
Bridget Johnson slid over on the help defense and set her feet to draw the charge. The foul was the fifth of the night on the Lady Toppers' leading scorer. With 30 seconds to play,
Keyarra Scottland drove downhill through contact and drew the foul on Charnita Brooks, sending her to the bench. Scottland converted the layup on the play and made the bonus free throw to push the lead to 69-63. At the 22-second mark, Adams hit a free throw to make it a seven-point lead. Guinn then called game with 11 seconds to go as she made both free throws to set the final margin.
Faulkner trailed 13-12 after one period of play and put together its best frame in the second when it outpaced BMC 18-13. The teams played to a deadlocked third quarter before the Toppers won the fourth frame 13-9 to force overtime.
The Lady Eagles appeared ready to run away with things late in the third quarter when
Ella Jane Connell parlayed a Scottland dish into a three to put her team up 46-37 with 1:23 left in the third. Faulkner's 12-4 run seemed at the time to signal a shift in the direction of the game as it accounted for the largest lead of the night by either team.
Undaunted, Blue Mountain Christian got back to work with a 14-2 run of its own to take a 51-48 lead by the 6:40 mark of the fourth. On the ensuing Lady Eagle possession, Adams grabbed an offensive rebound and fired the ball out to Connell, who drained a three to tie the game at 51. Adams then converted a layup for the 53-51 advantage with 4:33 left to play. BMC tied the game again on free throws with 3:58 left in regulation before Johnson hit a midrange jumper with 3:33 to go to put Faulkner up again. The Toppers made the most of another trip to the free throw line to tie the game again with 3:01 to play. Neither team scored again before Faulkner got the ball coming out of a timeout with 16 seconds to go. The sequence ended in an off-balance turnaround attempt from Adams that sent the game to the first overtime.
Guy gave her team the lead with a pair of free throws to open the first overtime. Guinn answered in kind 24 seconds later to tie it again. Guy made another free throw and then a jumper to put BMC up 60-57 with 2:45 remaining in the first OT. Connell answered with a jumper to cut it to one with 2:27 left. The game remained 60-59 in favor of the Toppers until Guinn hit a jumper with 48 seconds to go to leave the Lady Eagles ahead 61-60. Guy hit one more free throw to tie it again, setting up another sequence with the shot clock off and Faulkner looking to end the game.
Guinn, who played 48 mintues, paced Faulkner with 23 points and nine rebounds to go along with two steals and a block. The mark serves as the Faulkner career high for the Madison, Ala. native and matches over overall career high. She previously scored 23 against Wiley while playing for Fisk University back on Feb. 5, 2023. Scottland finished with 11 points and five assists. Wisniowski hit double figures for the first time in her career as she finished with 11. Adams had 10 points and 11 rebounds, marking the first double-double of her career.
The double overtime affair was the first for the women's team in 3,001 days. That game was a 99-97 loss to Brenau on Dec. 3, 2016.
Faulkner (13-12, 7-8 SSAC) wraps the regular season Saturday at Mobile. The Lady Eagles begin SSAC tournament play next week.
