TIFTON, Ga. - Faulkner (14-6, 8-3 SSAC) took control early and won each quarter to earn its fourth straight win, all over SSAC East teams from the state of Georgia, with a 91-60 blowout victory over Abraham Baldwin (5-13, 2-7 SSAC) at Gressette Gym on Thursday night.
Morgan Holland DeWitt opened the floodgates for the Lady Eagles on their first ever trip to Tifton with an offensive rebound and layup. Keyarra Scottland promptly hit a trey off a turnover on the next drive. Ella Jane Connell drained a triple to gain separation in a back-and-forth frame the rest of the way that put her team up 10-2 with 4:46 left and 16-6 after one quarter.
Faulkner then took the second period 27-14, using sustained runs to fight off four Filly triples. Avery Rogers opened the Faulkner scoring with a three-ball. Connell cashed in on an old-fashioned three-pointer. After the first ABAC bucket, Ruthie Smith put up a pair of layups. In response to two more ABAC threes, Scottland added a layup, and DeWitt shot a pair of free throws. In the last 2:28 of the half, Addison Cantrell scored two layups around a Scottland jumper, and Sydney Steward ended the half with five points on a jumper following her miss and a Brett Douglas offensive board and a three off a Smith block and Douglas defensive board.
The Lady Eagles led 43-20 at halftime and kept up the momentum to a higher scoring second half as the Fillies kept pace, outscoring the hosts 48-40. Faulkner dominated in most facets, including the rebounding battle 56-33 and shooting battle 42.5% to 30.8%. The Lady Eagles were propped up by 48 points from the bench as the reserves outscored the starters and beat ABAC's backups 48-16. Faulkner also took points in the paint 32-4, points off turnovers 27-14 and second chance points 24-10.
Smith led all players with 18 points on 7-12 shooting and eight rebounds. Scottland put up 14 points, seven boards and two steals. Connell led all reserves with 14 points on 5-7 shooting and 3-5 from beyond the arc. Cantrell scored 11 points, four boards and three assists. Audrey Blaine tied her career high set last week against Life with 10 points to go with six rebounds. Steward added 10 points and three dimes. Rogers had seven points and six boards. On Faulkner's final possession, former manager and JV elevation Corrin Burnett buried a three, her second of the year and her Lady Eagle career so far.
DeWitt had eight boards and four points, as she claimed sole possession of second place on the all-time program scoring list with 1757 points after tying Brittney Carter's career mark of 1753 versus Life. She now owns second place on the career program record in points, total rebounds (959) and defensive rebounds (706) to go with fourth place in assists (257).
The Lady Eagles held the leading SSAC scorer in Shakiria Chaney to 17 points on 5-15 shooting. Chaney, Zamiyah Hosley and Reese Riddle were the only three Fillies to hit double figures. Faulkner also held the second-leading rebounder in the conference in Dailey Jefferson to just five boards, which led ABAC.
Faulkner is now set to make the 60-mile trek southwest from Tifton to Thomasville to take on the Night Hawks on Saturday at noon ET/11 am CT, looking for a fifth straight SSAC win over a neighboring school from the Peach State.
