The Shorter Lady Hawks kicked off a four-game home stand with a 71-69 defeat of the North Alabama Lady Lions.

Four Lady Hawks scored in double figures, including Taylor Adams, who scored a team high 15 points.

Shorter (14-6, 11-5) trailed North Alabama (4-17, 3-13) early in the contest but Kayla Tillie connected from beyond the arc to tie the score at nine with 4:49 remaining in the first period.  Taylor Adams' layup gave the Lady Hawks an 11-9 advantage. Shakierya McClendon scored eight of her 14 points in the opening period, while eight North Alabama turnovers helped give Shorter a six-point lead, 20-14, at the end of the first.

The Lady Hawks opened the second quarter on a 12-0 run over the first 5:53 of the period. After the Lady Lions cut the deficit to 13, Raven Fair connected on two three's, pushing Shorter's lead to to 19. At the half, the Lady Hawks held a convincing 41-24 lead.

Taylor Adams scored six points in the third quarter as the two teams scored 18 points apiece. The Lady Hawks' lead remained at 17, 59-42. In the fourth, Shorter held off a late charge from the Lady Lions. After trailing by as many as 21 in the third quarter, North Alabama battled back to cut the Lady Hawks lead to five, 66-61, with 2:22 remaining. Janae Lyde helped the Lady Lions get within four multiple times, but late free throws by Tamarr Williams and Shaundricka Mann sealed the win for Shorter. A meaningless UNA three at the buzzer made the final score 71-69.

Adams led Shorter with 15 points, while McClendon added 14. Kayla Tillie and Raven Fair also scored in double figures, adding 11 and 10 points respectively. Alexus Patterson led North Alabama with a game high 22 points. For the game, Shorter shot 55.6% while UNA made 47.3% of its shots. SU outrebounded the Lady Lions 29-24

The Lady Hawks will be back in action on Saturday as they welcome Alabama Huntsville to the Winthrop-King Centre. Tipoff of the Gulf South Conference matchup is set for 2 PM EST.