MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner could not find the shooting from the field or the free throw line Thursday as it lost 69-59 to Loyola in the quarterfinals of the SSAC Women's Basketball Championship.
The Lady Eagles held a 45-44 lead to start the fourth quarter before the Wolfpack went on a 6-0 run to regain the advantage. A
Grace Anne Rose layup with 4:37 left put Faulkner down 54-52 before another 6-0 Loyola run widened it to a three-possession game. The Lady Eagles got back to within two possessions twice more but could not cash in on opportunities as the Wolfpack hit 13 of 17 free throw attempts in the game's final period to seal the win.
Faulkner shot 30.3 percent from the floor in the game and hit only 12 of 26 attempts at the charity stripe to end its season.
Ruthie Smith topped Faulkner with 27 points and 10 rebounds as the only player in double figures.
Nequoia Adams,
Dee Guinn and
Keyarra Scottland had seven points apiece.
Faulkner started hot offensively as Smith had 11 points through the first six minutes of play and the Lady Eagles traded shots with the Wolfpack. However, Loyola's torrid pace proved an untenable ask for the Faulkner offense with the Wolfpack putting up 25 points in the opening frame. By the 7:54 mark of the second quarter, the Lady Eagles trailed by 12. They went on a 12-7 stretch to end the frame and get to the locker room down 37-30. Faulkner pulled to within one possession on multiple occasions but did not tie it or lead until Scottland made two free throws with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.
The loss ends the prolific run of Adams who leaves Faulkner in the Top 10 in numerous career categories. She finishes with 1,280 points (fifth all-time), 310 assists (second all-time), 159 steals (second all-time) and 105 made threes (ninth all-time).
Smith finishes her sophomore season with a campaign that ranks Top 10 in program history in points, rebounds, steals and blocks. The Rogersville, Ala. native finished with 455 points (ninth best in program history), 255 rebounds (sixth best), 44 steals (seventh best) and 45 blocks (third best).
Faulkner finishes its first season under Head Coach
Jacob Roark at 14-14.
