CLINTON, MS. - A 7 for 15 night from beyond the arc and 14 points from freshman Kayla Tillie lifted the Shorter Lady Hawks over the Mississippi College Lady Choctaws, 59-50, in Gulf South Conference action Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Hawks jumped out to an 8-2 lead over their opponent, as Madison Rice and Kayla Tillie hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc. Mississippi College (5-19, 3-18) fought back, going on a 7-0 run to take the lead, but Shorter (18-7, 15-6) countered with a run of its own. Down one, the Lady Hawks rattled off six straight points – thanks to layups from Shakierya McClendon and Jackie Hudson and a jumper from Shaundricka Mann. At the end of the opening period, the Shorter ladies led by three, 14-11.

The game remained close in the second quarter with neither team taking more than a three-point advantage. After Mississippi College tied the game at 14, Mann hit her second jumper to put the Lady Hawks in front. With 6:46 remaining in the period, Tamarr Williams connected from deep in a tie ball game, once again giving the visitors the lead. Shorter held the lead by a small margin until there was 1:28 remaining and the Lady Choctaws hit a layup to take the lead, 25-23. The home team's time in front was short, lasting just under 30 seconds. Raven Fair sparked a 5-0 Lady Hawk run by converting layup with 25 seconds to go, and Brittany Greene made a layup of her own with two seconds remaining, sending the Lady Hawks to the locker room up three, 28-25.

Shorter forced 19 Mississippi College turnovers over the first two quarters, and managed 12 points off those takeaways. The bench also came up big for the Lady Hawks in the first half, scoring 12 points compared to just three by the Lady Choctaws reserves.

In the opening minutes of the second half, Shorter stretched its lead to six as Greene hit a shot from long range.  Mississippi College cut into the Lady Hawks lead, pulling within one point before Taylor Adams' layup with 3:38 left in the quarter gave the visitors a three-point advantage. The Lady Choctaws took their first lead of the second half with 1:04 to go in the third as Shaniqua Love made a layup. After another Mississippi College basket, two free throws by Tillie sent Shorter into the final period down 43-42.

The Lady Hawks trailed by three multiple times in the fourth quarter, but Tillie and Williams made clutch 3-pointers to tie the game. Williams tied the score 48 with her third three of the contest. 50 seconds after Williams evened the score, Adams' layup put Shorter in front for good. After Jackie Hudson put the Lady Hawks in front by seven, Adams hit her fifth field goal, giving SU its largest lead, 57-48. Each team managed one more basket, and in the end, the Lady Hawks were victorious, 59-50.

Tillie led Shorter with 14 points, while Adams added 11 to go along with 9 rebounds. Mississippi College's Kristen Sampson led all scorers with 21. The Lady Hawks shot 40.4% from the field, while the Lady Choctaws did slightly better, making 43.2% of their shots.

Shorter returns to the court on Thursday, February 25, for senior night against the Lee Lady Flames. Tipoff of the Gulf South Conference game is set for 6 PM EST from Rome, Ga with the men's game to follow.