THOMASVILLE, Ga. - Faulkner (15-6, 9-3) flew to a 22-6 lead eight minutes in and used another huge margin in the third quarter to hold off Thomas (11-12, 5-6 SSAC) 87-57 at Thomas University Gymnasium on Saturday. It's the fifth straight win for the Lady Eagles, and the second straight game in which six Lady Eagles scored in double figures.
At game's end, the teams were tied in assists, steals and points off turnovers, so old-fashioned shooting efficiency and rebounds proved key for Faulkner, and it dominated. The Lady Eagles outshot the Night Hawks 41.8% to 29.7% from the floor, 43.8% to 26.8% from long range and 77.3% to 47.1% from the charity stripe and won the rebounding battle 57-36 over a team with the SSAC's leading rebounder in LaTarius Montgomery. Faulkner also took the ancillary categories of points in the paint 24-14, bench points 37-22 and second chance points 14-9.
Keyarra Scottland got the fun started with a triple, and after Elicia Smith tied the game, Avery Rogers promptly answered with one of her own. Ruthie Smith then put up a layup and a jumper off an offensive rebound and assist by Scottland, respectively. Three possessions later, Ruthie Smith drained a three, her second score off a Rogers dish, and Morgan Holland DeWitt followed with a three-point play off her own defensive and offensive boards. Leading 16-6 after a Thomas layup, Ella Jane Connell sunk consecutive triples off Sydney Steward assists for her team's largest lead of the first quarter, the second off a Steward steal and a Connell offensive rebound.
In opening the second quarter, Keniyah White got her team within 10 on a second straight three before Connell hit her third. Two minutes later, White hit another to put her team within single digits, but Scottland would respond with three coast-to-coast buckets to put Faulkner ahead 32-17. Connell's fourth trey of the half and an Addison Cantrell layup gave Faulkner its largest lead of the day at 17 points, and following Thomas treys from Destiny Hill and Kennedy Collins, Ruthie Smith ended the half with a layup and a triple for a halftime lead of 42-26. The Lady Eagles shot 57.1% in the quarter.
With seven minutes left in the third quarter, Scottland and DeWitt combined for three layups and a 25-point lead, each setting up a bucket by the other with a steal and assist and the third by DeWitt being unassisted off her own rebound. Connell sunk triple number five off a block and assist from Smith before adding a layup off her own defensive board. With 2:30 left in the period, Cantrell put her team ahead by 30 points, the winning margin, for the first time with a layup set up by an Audrey Blaine block, a Steward rebound off the miss and a Connell dish.
Connell led Faulkner with 17 points off the bench on a perfect shooting day, 6-6 overall and 5-5 from three. Smith led all other players with 16 points to go with nine rebounds while DeWitt racked up 12 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Montgomery was the only other player with double-digit rebounds as she also reeled in 12, a third of Thomas's team total. Cantrell put up 13 points and two steals off the bench. Rogers scored 11 on 3-5 shooting, with all her makes and a 75% mark from three, along with four assists. Scottland also put up 11 on 5-9 shooting with five boards. Brett Douglas gathered nine boards and Blaine seven as well as five points, all from the line.
The Lady Eagles will have Georgia on their mind once again next week as they make the return trips to Brewton-Parker Christian and Point for their last cross-divisional contests of the regular season, where they will look to keep stacking SSAC wins against squads from Georgia. Faulkner takes on the Lady Barons on Thursday, Feb. 5, in a 4:30 pm CT tip.
