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#21 Lady Hawks stay unbeaten with 66-57 win over AUM
By Matt Green
ROME -- Allison Danner and Brittney Smith scored 11 points apiece and Shorter resisted a serious upset bid from Auburn University-Montgomery in a 66-57 victory over the Warhawks on Saturday afternoon at Winthrop-King Centre.
The 21st-ranked Lady Hawks stayed unbeaten and improved to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the Southern States Athletic Conference. AUM (3-3, 0-2 SSAC) lost for the second time in as many nights to a ranked SSAC opponent despite playing toe-to-toe with the Lady Hawks for the majority of the game.
In a game that saw eight ties and 12 lead changes, it was Shorter that secured the win with the final major run of the game.
A 10-2 AUM run capped by a field goal from LaKenya Drayton erased a six-point Shorter lead and put the Warhawks ahead 48-46 with 12:01 to play in the game.
Shorter answered right back with a 3 from Danner to regain the lead. Kelly Ellison, who finished with 10 points and eight assists, stripped Stephanie Torrance and went coast-to-coast for a layup, then found Smith open underneath for another layup as Shorter opened up a 53-48 lead with 8:24 remaining.
Areial Woods scored to bring AUM back to within one possession, but the Lady Hawks embarked on a 10-2 run over the next 4:22 -- Danner scored five points during the spurt -- to go up 63-52 with 3:45 left.
A Danner layupon a fast break feed from Abbie Daniel gave Shorter its largest lead of the game, 65-53, with 1:37 to go.
After an impressive 20-point win over Faulkner last night, Shorter had to shake off some weary legs to fight off a game Auburn-Montgomery squad. The Lady Hawks jumped out to a 12-4 lead thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Robyn Foster and a jumper from Ellison, but AUM used a 9-0 run capped by Kamesha Strong's field goal to take a 13-12 lead.
Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the first half, and Shorter, behind nine first half points from Shelby Farrer, managed a 34-32 lead at halftime.
Farrer added five rebounds and shot 4-for-5 for the game. Shorter was outrebounded for the firsttime this season -- AUM held a decisive 41-26 advantage on the boards -- but forced 25 turnovers by the Warhawks while taking particularly good care of the basketball with just eight giveaways.
Woods and Keisha Moore paced AUM with 11 points each. Caitlin Cunningham added eight points and eight rebounds.
Shorter will take eight days off before returning to action with a non-league tilt against Reinhardt University in Waleska on Nov. 28 at 6 pm.
