TALLADEGA - Thursday's win over Morris College wasn't just another game for the Talladega College women's basketball team and its head coach, Romeo Lagmay.
The 76-51 victory was Lagmay's 64th in three and a half seasons at TC, breaking the school record for career wins.
"It feels great, but I'm just thankful," Lagmay said after the game. "God's blessed me so much and I'm thankful for the TC administration - President (Billy) Hawkins and Vice President (Jacqueline) Paddio that hired me. I'm thankful for the support of the community in Talladega and my players. They make me look good. I'm surrounded by a good support system."
Following the game, Hawkins met with Lagmay's players on the court for a little celebration before heading to the locker room.
Lagmay tied the record, which was held by Larry McNeil, with Monday's 76-49 win over Edward Waters. He said his next goal is to hit the century mark in all-time wins, but he's glad the monkey's off his back.
"It's a relief to get past it," he said. "It's over. Now we can look ahead to Tougaloo and holding down the top spot in the conference. We need to accomplish short-term goals. It's about the team; it's not about me."
The win was Talladega's third in a row and moved the Lady Tornadoes to 9-4 overall on the season.
After playing the first 12 games of the year with just seven players, the Lady Tornadoes were able to do more things with the addition of two newly-eligible players to the roster Thursday. Lagmay started Chrystal Taloma and Stephanie DeFrance, hoping to get them into the flow of the season quickly.
"It's time to go," he said. "I want them to get the butterflies out of their stomach quickly."
Morris (0-14) didn't look like a winless team in the first half, as the Lady Hornets raced out to a 6-2 lead. The Lady Tornadoes had trouble finding the basket early on, but Taloma eventually got into a groove, scoring seven of TC's first eight points. Her 3-pointer at the 12-minute mark gave the Lady Tornadoes an 8-6 lead.
TC's leading scorer, Megan Iloff, scored her first point at the seven-minute mark of the half to increase the lead to 17-13. A 3-point play from Erica Wilkerson cut into TC's lead at 19-16 moments later.
"We had a sloppy first half defensively," Lagmay said. "The girls kind of looked at the 0-13 record, but I had to explain to them that they lost some close games. I told them if you put your hand in the cookie jar when you're not supposed to, you'll get your hand slapped."
Shakila Cole hit two 3-pointers during a decisive 10-0 Lady Tornado run that gave TC a 12-point lead with four minutes to go before the break.
Morris was unable to recover.
With a buzzer-beating layup from Cole, TC's lead had swelled to 42-20 by halftime.
Talladega pressed effectively in the second half and continued to build on its lead. The Lady Tornadoes led by as many as 29 points in the second half and coasted the rest of the way.
"We lost focus," said Morris head coach Gilbert Wilson. "All of a sudden we got out of our game and started throwing the ball away. It's not that we can't handle the trap; we just didn't stay focused. They did an excellent job."
Cole led TC with 16 points, five assists and three steals. Bianca Thomas recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Ebony Richardson had 12 points, while Lynice Schallberger had 11 and Iloff 10.
The Lady Hornets were led by Leanna Mills with 15 points and five rebounds.
Jamecia Ready had 11 points and six rebounds for Morris
The Lady Tornadoes will host Tougaloo, which holds a 3-1 conference record, tomorrow at 5 p.m. before embarking on a four-game road trip.
Led by the play of Thomas in the post, Talladega held a distinct advantage in the points in the paint category, outscoring USA 26-12. South Alabama also tied a season-high with 18 turnovers to which the Lady Tornadoes converted into 16 points.
USA was just 19-of-60 from the field in the win for 31.7 percent shooting, but struggled from long range, connecting on just 10 of its 35 attempts from beyond the three-point line and just nine of its 16 attempts at the free throw line.
Talladega was 22-for-65 from the field for 33.8 percent, but hit just three treys and five free throws.
The visiting Lady Tornadoes held a few early leads early on, the last coming at the 12:24 mark of the first half on a Lynice Schallberger layup to give Talladega a14-13 advantage.
Over the next three-and-a-half minutes, USA would use the long-range shot to retake the lead as the Lady Jags drained three-straight treys. Camille Reynolds started a 9-0 Jaguar run with a three-pointer from the right wing with 11 minutes, 37 seconds to go in the half. Sarda Peterson and Lauren Walker then each connected from behind the arc to give South Alabama a 22-14 advantage with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half.
Walker's basket though would proved to be the Lady Jags last back for nearly the next six minutes as USA was missed seven shots and committed four turnovers. The Lady Tornadoes took advantage and used a 15-2 run of their own during that same time to retake the lead.
Cole began the scoring run for Talladega with a three-pointer of her own from the left win at the 8:22 mark. After another basket from Schallberger and a pair of buckets from Thomas, the USA lead was down to just one with a little over three minutes showing on the clock.
Following the second bucket by Thomas, Peterson found Jennifer Johnson cutting the basket for a layup - South Alabama's first points in nearly six minutes. However, the Lady Jags offensive woes would continue as on the ensuing possession, Thomas knocked down another jumper to begin a string of eight-straight Tornado points. With two minutes, 25 seconds to go before the half, Ebony Richardson picked off a Jaguar pass and Iloff raced down the court for a fast-break layup to put Talladega back out in front, 25-24. The Lady Tornadoes extended their lead out to five (29-24) after a one-handed runner by Richardson on Talladega's next possession and another layup from Iloff off an inbounds play with a minute remaining.
El - who led the Lady Jags with nine points during the first 20 minutes of action - trimmed the deficit to two (29-27) with her second trey of the game, this one coming from the with six second on the clock.
Talladega took advantage of nine first-half turnovers and converted them into 10 points during the first stanza.
The Lady Tornadoes also held an advantage in the points in the paint category, outscoring USA 16-8. For the half, TC was 13-of-38 from the floor for 34.2 percent. USA was 10-for-30 for 30 percent and knocked down just six of its 20 attempts from beyond the arc.
Trailing at the break, South Alabama seemed to find a spark early on in the second half as it opened the frame with an 8-2 run to reclaim the lead. Peterson and Reynolds each had a trey to start the scoring and Cylenthia Kennon's 10-foot jumper at the 18:32 mark gave USA a 35-31 advantage.
As would be the case for the remainder of the game, Talladega quickly came back and tied the contest back up at 35-35 after Cole's jumper with just under 18 remaining rolled in and on the next possession, Thomas again drained a jumper of her own.
Over the next two-and-a-half minutes, USA would again stretch its lead back out to five after a Lauren Walker three-pointer from right wing, pair of Reynolds free throws.
With South Alabama leading again by four with under 10 to go, the Tornadoes again battled back and tied the game after back-to-back Latoya Davis baskets. Her layup off a Jaguar turnover at the 8:17 mark knotted the contest back up at 45-45.
South Alabama would again extend its lead back out to 49-45 after two free throws from Peterson at the 5:51 mark. Peterson was fouled while attempting a three-pointer from the left corner and hit two of her three opportunities at the stripe.
Led by Thomas, Talladega would not go away and responded right back with six unanswered points to retake the lead, at the 2:39 mark. Over the next minute, the two clubs swapped the lead.
Talladega tied the contest up at 52-52 with 43.3 seconds remaining in the game on a Iloff free throw, but had a chance to reclaim the lead with another free throw from Iloff, but Thomas stepped into the lane early, turning the ball over to the Lady Jags.
Coming out of a time out, El drove the lane and as the defense collapsed, found Reynolds open the right corner for the game-winning trey that gave USA a 55-52 advantage. On the Lady Tornadoes ensuing possession, Kennon drew a charge from Cole to give USA possession of the ball. South Alabama was almost able to run out the clock, but El was fouled and stepped to the line for a pair of free throws to give the final margin of victory.
.
TALLADEGA - The Talladega College women's basketball team broke a two-game slide Wednesday by blowing out Selma 81-47 at home.
Ebony Richardson led the way for TC with 29 points, three steals, three rebounds and two assists. Megan Iloff scored 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Shakila Cole had 11 points and six assists.
Lagmay praised his team's ability to hold its composure throughout the heated battle.
"We knew it was going to be a little bit dirty, but I try to coach the team by winning with class," he said. "There are going to be teams like that that try to startle you and get you to do some dirty things. What we basically say is, if there's a dirty game we're going to clean it up."
Iloff and Richardson hit two early 3-pointers to put Talladega up 6-2, but the Lady Bulldogs managed to keep pace with a few fast break points.
With the score tied at 8-8, Cole led TC on a 10-3 run that put the Lady Tornadoes up 18-11. Selma battled back and cut the lead to three points, but Richardson responded with six straight points to push TC's lead to 28-19.
A four-point play from Richardson gave the Lady Tornadoes a comfortable 15-point lead at 38-23 with three minutes to play in the first half, and TC took a 46-27 lead into the locker room.
The Lady Tornadoes continued to pour it on in the second half, as TC's lead swelled to 33 points.
With 12 minutes to play, both teams were whistled for technical fouls.
"It was basically trash-talking out there," said Lagmay when prompted about the technicals. "For both coaches its our duty to make sure we're displaying some type of moral excellence. Whether we lose or not we have to be classy about it. These are both institutions of higher learning."
Marquita McMurray led Selma with 25 points, four steals and four rebounds. Terrica Craig had eight points and six steals, while Treasure Baker had eight rebounds, six points and two steals.
The Lady Tornadoes will travel to South Alabama (6-3) Saturday at 7 p.m.
"(South Alabama) is a good mid-major Division I team," Lagmay said. "It will give us a good idea of where we're at against a Division I. We played Mississippi Valley State and lost to them surprisingly to us, but we're going to play hard. We're the type of team that will play anyone, anywhere."
TALLADEGA - In their first home game since Nov. 8, the Talladega Tornadoes defeated Oakwood 67-64 Wednesday for TC's first win of the 2011-12 season.
Montrelle Taylor's steal in the final seconds preserved the three-point win for the Tornadoes, who now stand at 1-7.
Kerry Harvis led Talladega with 21 points, four steals and three rebounds. Christopher Tanzy added 16 points, and Ivan Sostanic put up 10 points and had seven rebounds.
Despite being 30 minutes late, Oakwood got off to a quick start. Austin Doggette's 3-pointer in the opening minutes put the Ambassadors up 9-2.
Oakwood pushed its lead to 11-2 before TC responded with a bucket from Harvis and back-to-back 3-pointers from Tanzy.
Sostaric's basket at the 11-minute mark tied the game at 19-19, and Harvis' 3-pointer gave the Tornadoes a one-point lead moments later.
TC held a six-point lead in the closing minutes of the half, but the Ambassadors chipped away and tied the game. At the half, the teams were even at 34-34.
Tarium Taylor and the Tornadoes opened the second half with an 8-2 run to take a 42-36 lead.
Christopher Hyche's basket allowed TC to push its lead to 14 points midway through the second half. But that lead dwindled down as the Ambassadors pulled back into the game in the closing minutes.
Ronnie Clark's steal and layup brought the Ambassadors within three points with less than two minutes to play at 63-60.
Montrelle Taylor gave Talladega its five-point lead back, but Lenard Bryant scored to cut it to three points again moments later.
Down 65-62, Oakwood had a shot at a 3-pointer but the ball rimmed out. Talladega gained possession off the rebound, and Tarium Taylor was fouled. He made one free throw to make it a two-possession game.
Bryant's put-back cut the TC lead to 66-64 with nine seconds to play.
Montrelle Taylor's free throw gave TC a three-point edge, and his steal prevented a game-tying attempt from Oakwood.
The Ambassadors were led by Dougette and Bryant, who both had 16 points. Marcus Fitts added 12 points and Wilbur Ampey had 10.
Oakwood shot 48 percent from the field, compared to 43.8 from TC.
Talladega will play Belhaven University in the Tougaloo Classic at Jackson, MS on Friday November 3 at 4:00 pm.
TALLADEGA - The Talladega College women's basketball team had little problems getting past Oakwood Wednesday night as the Lady Tornadoes coasted to a 70-47 victory.
TC improved to 6-3 with the win. The Lady Tornadoes never trailed in the game, put it away early in the first half and were able to shift to cruise control in the second despite disciplinary issues.
"We knew we had limited players so we just tried to jump off to a big lead just in case we had to compensate for any mistakes down the line," said Talladega College head coach Romeo Lagmay. "I think we're totally blessed. We just let nature take its course and we thank God every day that we have no serious injuries and we're able play to a high standard."
Megan Iloff led TC with 20 points, three steals and three rebounds. Shakila Cole scored 16 points and had two steals, while Ebony Richardson scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Talladega.
Oakwood was led by Courtney White, who had nine points, seven rebounds and three steals. Samiah Alexander also recorded nine points and three steals, while Ashley Gray chipped in eight points and four rebounds for the Lady Ambassadors.
The Lady Tornadoes hit five of their first six shots to set the tone for the night. Richardson scored six points in the opening run, putting TC up 11-2.
A 3-pointer from Cole pushed the Lady Tornado lead to 24-7, and by halftime the TC lead had swelled to 40-17.
If the game wasn't already out of reach, it was after TC began the second half on an 8-0 run, with two baskets coming from Shakeela Rutled.
Midway through the second quarter, the TC lead peaked at 30 points at 51-21. Oakwood responded with an 11-3 run, but it was too little too late for the Lady Ambassadors.
"It was sloppy in the second half," Lagmay said. "I told the team they have to learn from a game like this. They may win it based on their athleticism but at the same time they have to work and improve individually and as a team."
Talladega shot 45.9 percent from the field, while Oakwood struggled, making just 24.1 percent.
The Lady Tornadoes, winners in five of their last six games, will play exhibition contest at Selma tonight at 5:30 p.m.
"All four games have been all nail-biters," said Talladega head coach Romeo Lagmay. "I owe it to my former mentor's wife - I told her we kept winning these nail-biters and I told her I don't think we're that good. She said when you win nail-biters, that means you have a good team and they're holding their composure. The job is to win the game, and that's what they've been doing."
For TC, the win avenged a 53-38 loss to the Lady Warhawks back on Nov. 9.
"The only thing we focused on was payback," Lagmay said. "We went up there and got smacked, and we didn't like that. They were in house now and it's hard to beat us at home."
The Lady Tornadoes were led by Megan Iloff, who scored 18 points and pulled in seven rebounds. Senior Ebony Richardson had 13 points and 10 boards, while Bionca Thomas had 13 rebounds and 10 points.
The Lady Warhawks got out to a 7-4 lead early, before Thomas' basket gave Talladega an 8-7 lead.
The Lady Tornadoes had a hard time defending the 3-point shot early in the first half, as AUM hit four - two coming from Stephanie Torrence.
The second 3-pointer from Torrence put AUM up 24-20. Lagmay called a timeout, and what followed was an 8-0 run by the Lady Tornadoes. Fast-break baskets from Iloff and a couple put-backs from Thomas gave TC a 28-24 lead.
By halftime, the Lady Tornadoes held a 33-30 advantage.
Lynice Schallberger got off to a hot start in the second half, recording four points, a steal and a rebound in the first four and a half minutes, helping TC build a 42-34 lead.
However, it seemed as if every time Talladega College got any kind of cushion, the Lady Warhawks would battle back.
AUM chipped the lead down with a 7-2 run, but three buckets in a row from Iloff put Talladega up 50-43. With about two minutes to play, AUM had once again cut into the lead and trailed by just one point at 51-50.
"That's basketball, it's a game of runs," Lagmay said. "That's what makes college ball so entertaining. It can go either way. At the end that's when you have to focus and right now they're focusing on the task at hand and I'm proud of them."
A big steal and basket from Richardson put TC up 56-52 in the final minute, forcing AUM to foul as time ran out.
Down by three, the Lady Tornadoes turned the ball over on an in-bound pass with eight seconds to play, giving AUM one final shot.
"When we came out of the timeout, I drew up a play and my post players missed their assignments," Lagmay said. "I told them I analyzed the game and I know who can catch the ball. I knew what they're going to try to do, so we tried to in-bound it to our post players and they just missed their assignment."
Torrence's 3-point attempt bounced off the rim twice, sending the Lady Warhawks home with their fourth straight loss.
AUM was led by LaKenya Drayton with 13 points. Keisha Moore had 12, and Marren Schwartz had 11.
The Lady Tornadoes shot 44.8 percent from the field, compared to AUM's 44.2.
The Lady Warhawks will return to action Dec. 2 against Southern Polytechnic State while Talladega College will travel to Faulkner Monday.
"We just talked about Faulkner in the locker room, that's a rematch as well," Lagmay said. "Faulkner came in here and stole one so we're going to try and claim our property back."
The next home game for the Lady Tornadoes will be Nov. 30 against Oakwood.
Megan 5-7 junior guard from Los Angeles, CA average 13.7 pts with 5 steals, 3 assist and 7 rebounds for the week. Megan for the season is averaging 15 points, 3 assist, 7 rebounds and 4 steals per game.
TALLADEGA - The Talladega College men's basketball team lost its first game of the season Wednesday, 82-72 to visiting Faulkner.
Down by 23 points in the second half, TC (0-1) managed to cut the Faulkner (3-0) lead to 66-65 with a furious 23-1 run. The Eagles, however, responded with a 14-5 run of its own to escape Tornado Alley with a win.
"That 23-point lead evaporated pretty quickly," said Faulkner head coach Jim Sanderson. "They created some turnovers and we probably panicked a little bit. I've coached a lot of games here and when the atmosphere gets rolling, Talladega gets rolling."
The Tornadoes got off to a slow start against the Eagles, falling behind 23-8 in the early stages of the first half. But TC went on a 14-2 run in roughly six minutes to climb back into the game.
A 3-pointer from Tarium Taylor with 10 minutes remaining in the half cut the Faulkner lead to 12 points, and another from Ivan Sostanic moments later brought the Tornadoes within nine at 23-14.
After TC trimmed the lead to two points at 27-25, Faulkner went on a 14-2 run to regain control.
Ten unanswered points brought the Eagle lead to 37-25. Howard Greer ended Faulkner's run with a basket, but at the half TC trailed 41-27.
"It looked like we came to lose," said Talladega head coach William Brown. "In the first half we didn't play aggressive at all on offense or defense. We got into such a big hole in the first half that it was difficult in the second half to cut the lead down."
The Eagles went on a big 9-2 run to open the second half, and increased their lead to 50-29.
Faulkner led by as many as 23 points before the Tornadoes woke up. What transpired was a furious 23-1 run led by Christopher Hyche that took just six minutes off of the clock.
The run began with a dunk from Hyche. On the in-bound pass, DeAndrae Ross grabbed a steal and was fouled on his jumper. Ross completed the 3-point play at the line, cutting the lead to 18 points.
Faulker appeared to lose its composure in the following minutes.
Another steal from Ross gave TC the ball back, and Taylor made two clutch free throws to cut the lead to 65-49.
Hyche took control of the game, scoring the next 12 points for TC to bring the Tornadoes within five.
Buckets from Christopher Tanzy and Ross made it 66-65 with about six minutes to play in the game.
"We couldn't stop the bleeding there for a while until we called a time out or two," Sanderson said.
Big plays from Faulkner's Jake Mitchell and Chris Palmore allowed the Eagles to reclaim control.
With time running out, the Eagles made huge free throws at the line to send them back to Montgomery with their third win of the season.
Hyche finished the game with 24 points, 16 of which came in the 23-1 run. Brown said while his offensive performance was impressive, his defense needs work.
"The guys he was guarding had a tremendous nights as well," Brown said. "When you score 24 points ,but give up the same amount, he's null and void. He has to do a better job defensively and on the board - the same goes for the rest of the guys. (Faulkner's) entire starting lineup was in double figures we didn't shut down anybody in the first or second half."
Faulkner was led by Palmore, who scored 25 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Adam Okechukwu put up 15 points, while Mitchell had 10 with seven assists and two steals.
Kerry Harvis scored 18 points for TC while Taylor added nine.
"We just need to keep working on our defensive principles and use this as a teaching tool," Brown said. "We know where we went wrong - we gave up too many easy baskets and second-chance opportunities. We have to have some guys step up. I don't think we prepared well tonight as a group."
TC will be on the road for the next two weeks, beginning with a exhibition game against Tuskegee on Thursday at 7 p.m
TALLADEGA - The Talladega College women's basketball team gave fans a high-scoring performance Saturday, taking down Lane College 71-61 for their first win of the season.
TC (1-1) had to play without star senior Ebony Richardson, who suffered a concussion Tuesday and is expected to miss one more game.
Megan Iloff scored a game-high 22 points with three assists in the win.
"Ebony would have definitely been a great asset, but we play with what we've got," Lagmay said. "We definitely had to adjust because we didn't have that much speed. They didn't see us at our best, but they saw us as a team. Iloff is a scorer, sometimes you just have to let someone go loose and unleash them. She finds ways to make buckets - some things you just can't coach."
Shakila Cole added 20 and Kenyatta Harper chipped in 15 for Talladega College. Latoya Davis led the Lady Tornadoes with 11 total rebounds.
The game remained tight through 15 minutes of the first half. The Lady Tornadoes struggled on fast breaks, frequently missing quick layups.
Lane College often led by two or was tied before TC went on a game-changing 9-0 run with about five minutes to play in the first half.
"We had to dictate what was going to guide us," Lagmay said. "We could have come off complacent or go after it, and they went after it."
A 3-pointer from Iloff made it 22-19 with just over five minutes to play. The junior also hit a pull-up jumper on TC's next possession to give the Lady Tornadoes a 24-19 lead. Kenyatta Harper rebounded a missed free throw and pulled back up to increase the TC lead to 26-19.
After another miss on a fast break, Iloff scored again to make it 28-19.
TC led 30-22 at the half.
The Lady Tornadoes came into the second half on fire, reeling off eight unanswered points. Buckets from Iloff, Davis and Cole allowed TC to pick up where they left off in the first half, pushing the lead to 38-22.
The Lady Tornadoes held a comfortable cushion for the remainder of the game for the 10-point win.
Lane College was led by Katora Fleming and Marissa Stewart with 14 points each.
As a team, the Lady Tornadoes shot 42.9 percent from the field, compared to 35.3 percent by Lane College. TC also did better at the line, shooting 72 percent compared to 60.6 percent for Lane College.
The Lady Tornadoes will return to action Wednesday, when they hit the road to play Auburn University Montgomery at 5:30 p.m. The game will kick off a four-game road trip, as the next home game will not be held until Nov. 22 when TC hosts AUM.
"It's tough to win at their house," said Lagmay when asked about AUM. "I think we will definitely have to limit our turnovers. That's going to be a mental game because we know we have the talent. It's going to give us a test to see how we do on the road."
TALLADEGA - Shalitha Swain made her last home game a memorable one. The lone senior recorded 12 kills to lead Talladega College past Tennessee Temple in straight sets (25-11, 25-10,25-13) Thursday night.
"Senior Night is a big night and we definitely wanted to get a win for (Shalitha)," TC head coach Ron Burt said. "We wanted to send her out on a good note in her home finale and we did that as well as getting our 20th win of the season. I am real proud of the girls. We have come a long way this year."
The win also earned the Lady Tornadoes their first 20-win season in school history. Burt gives his players the credit for the setting the school record.
"I have good core of kids," Burt said. "(Shalitha) being my senior I am going to miss her. She is a great ball player and a great kid. The core group of kids that I had when I came in the credit goes to them. I just pushed, tweaked and molded them a little bit. They did all the hard work and everything that I asked them to do and it shows out there."
The Lady Tornadoes took control early in the first set. Kills by Raven Black and Swain gave TC a 3-1 advantage. An ace by Paris Powell increased TC's lead to 6-1. April Webb and Paris Powell recorded a kill apiece to make it 13-4. A block by Black then block assists by Black and Webb gave the Lady Tornadoes an 18-9 lead. Gabby Powell's kill made it 19-9. TC scored five points off the serve of Paris Powell to make it 24-10. Tennessee Temple's PJ Sexton's serve went out of bounds to give TC a 25-11 win.
The Lady Tornadoes dominated the second set. Swain got things started to make it 2-2 with a kill. A block by Chelsea Barry and Swain made it 4-3. Kills by Barry and Gabby Powell made it 8-4. Gabby Powell set up Webb for a kill to make it 11-7. Swain took over the game later in the set. The senior soared high above the net for three straight kills to give the Lady Tornadoes an 18-10 lead.
Sariah Williams' ace gave TC a 21-10 advantage. Kills by Swain and Webb made it 25-10.
"(Swain) had three block assists and seven digs," Burt said. "Defensively, she was outstanding. She also had 12 kills on 15 attempts without errors. She was ranked second in the conference, if this doesn't put her No. 1 in hitting percentage nothing will. She has been awesome all year."
Tennessee Temple made the third set competitive, but the Lady Tornadoes were able to pull away late to win the match.
Gabby Powell recorded 28 assists and three kills for TC. Webb had eight kills; Paris Powell had five kills, while Barry and Black recorded four apiece.
The Lady Tornadoes now turn their attention to the Gulf Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Nashville on the campus of Fisk University.
TC takes on Tougaloo in their first match of the tournament next Thursday.
TALLADEGA - The Faulkner women's basketball team survived a late rally to defeat Talladega College 75-73 in their season opener Tuesday.
Faulkner (1-0) started the second half on 12-4 run to increase their halftime advantage from two points to 10 points 42-32. Brittney Carver owned the paint area during the run. The junior forward scored six of her team's first nine points during the run. Christina Hayes drained a pair of three pointers to give Faulkner a 10-point advantage.
Shakila Cole sparked an 11-3 run for the Lady Tornadoes to cut the Faulkner lead down to four points 45-43. The senior drained two three pointers including one to cut the lead down to 45-42 with 14:41 remaining in the half. Lynice Schallberger got the Lady Tornadoes (0-1) within a point 49-48 with a put back with 12:54 remaining in the half, but that's as close they would get.
Carter scored six points in a just over a two minute span to spark an 8-2 increase to Faulkner's lead to 57-50 with 10:22 left in the game.
"When we need big buckets we go inside," Sutton said. "She was an honorable mention All-American last year and she got her average. Last year she averaged 21(points), 15 (rebounds) and she was at 22 points and 14 rebounds tonight. We got what we expected out of her. Christina Hayes was a big boost for us. She transferred in and she is the second cog in the wheel to do what Brittany does day in and day out for us. I am really pleased with Christina's game with 15 points."
TC knocked down three free throws to cut the Faulkner lead to 59-53, but Haynes knocked down another shot from behind the arc to take the lead right back to nine points 62-53.
Ebony Richardson carried Talladega down the stretch as she scored eight points and came up with a steal and assist to Cole for a lay up 73-63. Richardson cut the lead to eight 73-65 with 1:44 left in the game. Megan Lloff's three-point play cut the lead down to 73-68 with 1:05 left in the game. LaToya Davis got the Lady Tornadoes with in six points with a pair of free throws to make it 73-70 with 49.9 left in the game.
Faulkner kept the Lady Tornadoes in the game as they missed three out five free throws late in the game.
With 4.1 left in the game Vittoria Poole calmly drained a pair from the charity stripe to make it 75-70. Lloff drained a long three pointer at the buzzer to make it 75-73.
Richardson led the way for TC with 28 points. Cole scored 16 points, Lloff chipped in 13 points.
The purpose of the White Cane Safety celebration is to educate the community on blindness and to raise awareness about the obstacles facing our blind neighbors.
"We are learning as a team that it's not always about you" Talladega Head Coach William Brown said "You have to be able to share the focus if we are going to be the best we can be. We can't ask the community to support us if we are not there to support them, it works both ways.
At the school the players help organized a festivities to help raise awareness about the obstacles facing blind neighbors.
Talladega, AL-The start of the game was delayed an hour due to Oakwood being stuck in traffic and TC needed less than 50 minutes to get (25-9, 25-4,25-12) a victory.
"That was one of my pregame speeches," TC head coach Ron Burt said. "I said we have played this team before, we know what they are about. We need to stay in our system and play our game. Don't get caught up playing their style of volleyball, we have a style, we need to play ours and they did it."
TC (14-9) jumped out to a fast start to open the first set. The Lady Tornadoes scored five points off the serve of Sariah Williams to take a 10-3 lead. April Webb's ace gave TC a 12-4 advantage. Paris Powell had some things to do with seven of the Lady Tornadoes last eight points in the first set. Paris Powell got things started with a kill to make it 17-8.
With the score 18-9, she stepped up and scored the seven points off her serve.
TC continued to roll in the second set. Back to back powerful kills by Webb and Shalitha Swain gave the Lady Tornadoes a 6-1 advantage.
Williams serve helped TC build a huge lead in the second set. The junior scored nine points off her serve including an ace. Swain towered over the net for kills on two occasions during the run. A block by Swain and Chelsea Barry gave TC a 17-3 advantage. TC closed out the second set with a 7-0 run, which was capped off by a Barry kill.
"Offensively, we did everything that we wanted to do," Burt said. "We hit .377 as a team, we had 31 kills on 61 attempts and eight errors as a team. Defensively, we put up some good numbers. We had two solo blocks and 12 block assists, so that is where we have been all year. They weren't a great offense attacking team, but whenever they did attack we were in the right position to make a dig. Sariah ended up with 10 and Paris ended with eight digs."
Swain led TC with 11 kills on 19 attempts with two errors. Parris Powell, Webb and Barry recorded five kills.
TALLADEGA - The Lady Tornadoes of Talladega College cruised past Concordia College in Selma in straight sets (25-12, 25-5, 25-14) Wednesday in the Callahan Gymnasium.
In the third set Lincoln native Lenyia Gover tied the game up at 5-5 off a serve. The Lady Tornadoes' front line began to pick up were they left off in the first two sets. In the third set Paris Powell and April Webb recorded back-to-back kills to make it 13-8. Shalitha (Swain) added three kills in the final set including one that hit off the head of an Concordia defender to make the score 23-14.
"Shalitha had nine kills, Paris) and April both had eight and that was out of 10 attempts," Burt said. "That is pretty good efficiency. We only had four errors in 41 attempts so we hit really, really well. That goes to our defense giving the setter something that she can handle once she gets in a good spot to hit. We played an overall real solid game of volleyball. That is kind of what I preach to them. My motto is let's play Talladega volleyball and is what we want to play."
Gabby Powell recorded 30 assists. Sariah Williams recorded 12 digs, while Paris Powell recorded six digs. TC had six players to have two assist blocks or more.
"Everybody contributed to this win," Burt said. "As a coach that is all I can ask for. I have eight girls that are able to play and all eight girls had an impact on the game. That is what I like to see."
The Lady Tornadoes host Judson College tonight at 6 p.m.
The first-year coach is looking for the same kind of focus and execution that his team displayed against Concordia to carry over into tonight's match.
"They took a set from us when we went up there and the girls remember that and I think they are come out with the same fire that they had today," Burt said. "I think you are going to see more of the same tomorrow at least as a coach that is what I am hoping for. We will see. We had a real tough match on Monday against Stillman; we went five (sets) and beat them. I think we had a little jet lag when went to Belhaven yesterday. We didn't play well and we got beat, so get back on track (Wednesday) was priority No. 1. Once we get back on track we will handle (today) with the intensity that we need too."
.jpg)
