TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Stillman College women's basketball team rallied to take a lead in the fourth, but the Faulkner University Lady Eagles secured a key play to earn a 56-55 win Thursday night in Birthright Alumni Hall. 

Stillman fell to 5-5 overall, while Faulkner improved to 10-2 this season. 

Rapid Recap:

Despite securing the first two points of the quarter, Faulkner stormed back with a 12-0 run to take a commanding lead. The Lady Eagles eventually went up 24-8 after a three-pointer from Ruthie Smith with 2:32 on the clock. Faulkner closed the quarter with a 24-9 advantage. 

Stillman flipped the script in the second quarter and outscored the Lady Eagles 22-7 in the period. The Tigers trailed the entire quarter until Danyjhia Williams banked in a three-pointer from near half-court as time expired to secure a 31-31 tie at the half. 

Faulkner opened up a nine-point, 40-31 lead at the 6:00 minute mark following a layup from Morgan Holland DeWitt, but Jaida Minter briefly cut into it with a three-pointer just 20 seconds later. The Lady Eagles outscored the Tigers 15-7 in the third to take a 46-38 lead to the final quarter. 

In the fourth, Stillman battled back to tie the game at 48-48 off a three from Chayce Matthews at the 5:02 mark, and took the lead seconds later with a layup from Minter to move the score to 50-48. The Tigers built a four-point lead before Grace Anne Rose went on a personal 4-0 run to tie the game at 52-52 with 3:12 on the clock. 

Matthews responded with an old-school three-point play to a 55-52 lead with 2:38 on the clock. However, with 1:05 to go, DeWitt converted a four-point play to give Faulkner a 56-55 lead that the team held onto to collect the road win over Stillman. 

Notes and Numbers:

-Jaida Minter led all scorers with 19 points alongside four rebounds and two steals. 
-Chayce Matthews posted 12 points and five rebounds off the bench. 
-Tyeesha Slaughter led on the boards with 13 rebounds alongside three blocks and six points. 
-Stillman shot a season high of 20 three-pointers. The Tigers shot 19 threes on four separate occasions. 

Up Next:

Stillman College returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. in Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference action against Rust College.