ROME, Ga. – After a two-game stint in South Florida, Shorter Women's Basketball returned home to face a talented Oakwood team who led by as many as 23 before the Hawks defied the odds, downing the Ambassadors, 68-65.  

With 6:17 to play in the second quarter, Oakwood's RB Mitchell drove the lane and converted a lay-up to put her team up 36-13. On the following possession, it was a three-pointer (and Shorter's only made three-point field goal of the game) out of the hand of Tori Smiley that gave the Hawks – who the Ambassadors outscored 25-9 in the first quarter – a glimmer of hope. Tiara Lewis was a force down low, recording her first double-double (26-10) of the young season. For 38 minutes and 26 seconds, Oakwood never trailed, but it was Shorter's Amya Patterson who broke the tie with 1:34 left in the game with a made free throw. It was also Patterson who extended Shorter's lead with a lay-up on the very next possession, ultimately winning the game.  

How it happened  

Oakwood had a phenomenal first quarter on both sides of the court. Offensively, the Ambassadors shot 10-of-17 (58.8%) from the floor and rattled home 2 of their first 3 attempts from deep. Defensively, they held Shorter to 3-of-15 (20%) shooting from the field and saw the Hawks miss all five of their attempts from behind the arc.  

The three-pointer from Smiley halfway through the second quarter changed everything. To finish the half, the Hawks outscored the Ambassadors 15-9 following Smiley's three. If the slate was wiped clean after the three from Smiley, the Hawks outscored the Ambassadors 52-29 the rest of the way.  

Several Ambassadors starters found themselves in foul trouble in the second half and forced Ronnie Abrams to go further down his bench than anticipated. Two of Abrams' starters finished with four personal fouls with another key bench player fouling out completely.  

Shorter held Oakwood to just 20 second-half points and shot well enough from the free throw line (71.9% on 32 attempts) to get past Oakwood. We'll see how Coach Brooks aims to get their ball handlers in the box score more moving forward.  

What's next? 

The Hawks set their sights on GCSU. The Bobcats are in town this weekend with the tip set for Saturday at 2:00pm EST on FloHoops.