WALESKA, Ga. – Faulkner used an overwhelming early-game run to seize control Friday on the way to a 69-55 victory over Reinhardt.
The visiting Lady Eagles trailed 14-6 with three minutes to go in the first quarter. A pair of
Makinley Traylor free throws at the 2:58 mark of the first started Faulkner in the right direction.
GraceAnne Rose followed with a layup before
Sydney Steward dished to
Ruthie Smith for another, cutting the deficit to 14-12 by the end of the opening frame.
Rose buried a three off a Steward dime to start the second, giving Faulkner the lead at 15-14. The visitors never looked back.
Laylah Davis turned a Steward assist in to a three just 25 seconds later before Smith went on a personal 8-0 run. Back-to-back threes from Steward and
Brett Douglas moved the Faulkner run to 26-4 and set the advantage at 32-18.
Reinhardt worked the score back to single digits before Rose hit a jumper to send the game to halftime with Faulkner up 36-26.
The teams played to a dead even 11-11 third quarter, leaving the Lady Eagles up 10 with 10 minutes to play. Chloe VanDyke knocked down a jumper just 13 seconds into the frame to get the game back to single digits. Rose answered with a layup off a Davis pass before Steward used a Davis dish to knock down a three. One more layup from Rose pushed the lead to 15 with 7:59 to play. Two more Smith layups all but put the game away.
Faulkner outpaced Reinhardt 22-18 in the game's final quarter, getting eight points from Smith in the process. Five different Lady Eagles scored in the game's decisive frame as Steward's free throws with 59 seconds remaining gave her the first triple-double in Faulkner women's basketball history.
The reigning NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week, Steward finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor. She also added two steals to lead the team in takeaways.
Smith added 24 points and six rebounds. The scoring mark puts her at 1,300 career points, making her fifth in scoring in program history. Rose added 14 points and six rebounds in the effort.
Faulkner shot 56 percent from the floor while making half of their shots from beyond the arc. The Lady Eagles won the rebound battle 39-25 while also taking points in the paint 24-20. Faulkner turned the ball over 16 times in the game while Reinhardt only committed seven such miscues. Reinhardt shot 30 percent from the field and 18.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Faulkner utilized seven players in the game with each of them scoring at least four points. The Lady Eagles were without starting guard
Avery Rogers, who competed Friday morning in the SSAC Cross Country Meet in Jackson, Miss.
Faulkner (4-0) returns home Thursday to open SSAC play against Tennessee Southern at 5:30 p.m.
