THOMASVILLE, GA — The Thomas University Women's basketball opened up the Faulkner Classic on Friday losing a nail-biter that went down to the final possession before the Night Hawks eventually fell 64-66 to the Eagles from Life University.
Leading the way for the Night Hawks, four players registered double-digits, as Junior Xenia Cavallé led all TU scorers with 14, while starters Destiny Reed and Amayla Sharif also added 12 and 11, respectively.
In the first quarter of the Classic opener, both teams struggled to score the basketball, with the scoreline reading 8-14 in favor of the Eagles after ten minutes of play.
Second quarter action saw the Night Hawks begin to find an offensive rhythm, as the lead for the Eagles dwindled down to two points at the end of the second quarter before the Eagles sent the teams to halftime leading 24-27.
Second half basketball brought a resurgence of offensive prowess, as both teams improved offensively, with the Night Hawks scoring 40 while Life scored 39. For the Night Hawks, a poor third quarter found the team trailing by 13 entering the fourth, but, after that, the Night Hawks' offense woke up and brought the best quarter of action the team has played so far in the early 2021-22 season.
The fourth quarter resurgence was fueled by a combination of Night Hawk players, as Senior Destiny Reed, Junior Xenia Cavallé and Sophomore Nayeli Williams all found offensive rhythms fueling the team's 27 point quarter. Down the stretch, Night Hawk defense helped fuel the offense, as the Night Hawks forced 17 turnovers overall with four turnovers in the last three minutes providing TU four opportunities to take the lead. Despite the chances, Thomas failed to convert any game tying buckets, and, as time expired, Life University took the 66-64 win.
Junior Amayla Sharif led the team on the defensive end, grabbing a team-high six rebounds to go along with 3 steals.
Up next, the Night Hawks will have less than 16 hours to recover, as tipoff against Faulkner at Tine W. Davis Gymnasium is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday. Fans can follow along with this contest by accessing the links below:
Watch Live
Live Stats (XML)
For up-to-date information on TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of TU women's basketball follow them via Twitter at @NightHawksWBKB.
