ROME, Ga. – Junior Taylor Adams and freshman Kayla Tillie combined for 40 points as the Shorter Lady Hawks defeated Gulf South Conference foe Mississippi College 65-55 Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop-King Centre.

The win, the Lady Hawks' third straight, improves their overall record to 10-3 overall and 7-2 in the conference heading into a GSC showdown Monday night when Shorter host No. 22-ranked Delta State.

Against the Lady Choctaws (4-8, 2-7), Shorter found itself trailing 11-10 at the end of the first quarter and down by four, 16-12, less than a minute into the second period.

The Lady Hawks, however, put together a 6-0 win with more than three minutes to go in the opening half – Adams and Jackie Hudson fed each other for back-to-back assists and baskets – and with 2:17 remaining until the break Adams scored on a layup giving her team an eight-point lead, 26-18, and at halftime the home team found itself with a 28-22 advantage.

But Mississippi College turned up its defense at the start of the second half, shutting down the Lady Hawks on the perimeter and converted the effort on the offensive end to regain a 41-35 edge thanks to a pair of free throws by Kristen Sampson with 2:15 remaining in the period.

That's when the Lady Hawks came up with the needed surge as Shorter overcame the deficit and tie the game 41-41 when Shaundricka Mann recorded a steal and converted it into a layup as the quarter ended.

Shorter carried the momentum over into the final 10 minutes of the game, opening the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run with Tillie capping the surge.

Adams eventually gave the Lady Hawks their first double-digit lead, 55-45, on a layup with 5:21 left to play and with 54 seconds to go Tillie all but sealed the win giving her team a 12-point lead, 62-50, knocking down two foul shots.

Adams also led Shorter pulling down nine rebounds while Mann cleared seven under the paint as Shorter ended the game hitting 42 percent of its shots.

Sampson led Mississippi College with 15 points while Chloe Roberts had 10.