River Region Times

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner advanced to the semifinals of the SSAC Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Newk's Eatery, with a clutch second half, overcoming a five point halftime deficit to defeat Blue Mountain 63-55 Thursday evening at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl. 

With the Toppers leading 30-25 after half, Carmen Taylor hit a pair of jumpers to increase the Faulkner deficit to nine, but a Morgan Holland three started some buckets traded on ensuing possessions. Nequoia Adams knocked down a pair of free throws at 7:07 in the third before swiping the next Blue Mountain possession and going coast to coast to bring it to a 38-34 game. Holland added another layup after a BMC missed three to cut it to two to swing the momentum firmly to the Lady Eagles bench for the night. With 3:10 to go in the third, Holland drained another three to put Faulkner into the lead for the first time since early in the second quarter. 

In the fourth quarter, the defense locked down the dynamic guard trio from Blue Mountain that combined for 39 by allowing just one bucket from the floor and four total points in the first five minutes to build a five point lead. However with just 2:30 to play, it was still a nailbiter between the two and seven seeds. Adams took over once again with layups on the next two possessions to take a seven point lead with 1:27 to play and closed the game out with knocking down five of its eight free throws down the stretch to move onto a big matchup with Brewton-Parker.

Holland and Angela Grant joined the 1000 point club, becoming the fifth and sixth members in program history, on the night. Holland had 15 points and five boards with a team high four assists. Grant ended with nine points and eight boards in just 27 minutes dealing with some foul trouble. Adams finished with 16 points in just 25 minutes also due to early foul trouble. Evaiah Burrows added 10 points as well. 

The Lady Eagles will play a massive semifinal game against No. 3 seed Brewton-Parker, potentially with an automatic bid on the line, Friday at 5 p.m. If Loyola wins at 1 p.m. against William Carey, the winner of Faulkner-Brewton-Parker will claim the SSAC's second automatic bid. The Lady Eagles split the season series as both teams dealt with injuries during the losses. The postseason game is a rematch of last season's quarterfinal that the Barons won 72-64. 

Original source can be found here.