Rome, Ga. - SSAC Newcomer of the Year Marissa Stotler scored 20 points to lead her No. 2-seeded and 18th-ranked Southern Polytechnic State University squad to a 59-43 victory over third-seeded Shorter College in the first women's semifinal of the 2010 Southern States Athletic Conference Basketball Championships.

The win propels the Runnin' Hornets (28-4) into Saturday evening's 5 p.m. championship game against the winner of top-seed Lee University and No. 5-seed Auburn University-Montgomery. Southern Poly will be competing for its first-ever SSAC title and is sure to receive its first-ever bid into the NAIA National Tournament.

The Lady Hawks (22-9), whose 22 victories are the program's most since the 1999-2000 season, will now have to wait and see if they receive an at-large bid into the NAIA National Tournament. Shorter last played in the tournament in 2001-02.

Southern Poly, which swept the two regular season meetings between the teams by a combined four points, turned a three-point game at halftime into a second half rout with smothering defensive pressure that forced 26 Lady Hawk turnovers.

The Runnin' Hornets held the SSAC Freshman of the Year, Shorter's Shelby Farrer, to two points and five rebounds on 1-of-6 shooting and kept close tabs on All-SSAC guard Kelly Ellison, who finished with seven points and three assists on only five shots.

Stotler had no such trouble finding her offensive groove. The junior scored six of her team's first ten points in helping Southern Poly to an 18-7 lead with 9:29 remaining in the first half.

Although Shorter closed the first half on a 14-6 run to get within three at the break, Stotler opened the second half with a bucket on Poly's first possession and scored two more field goals over the next four offensive possessions as the Hornets extended their lead to 37-25 thanks to a 13-4 run in the first 4:01 of the second frame.

The Lady Hawks were unable to make any significant rally in the final half, never coming closer than eight. Holly Bawden, playing in her final SSAC Tournament, led Shorter with 11 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Whitni Tucker, also a senior, finished with nine points for Shorter, which shot 41.5 percent, but just 4-of-15 from three. Senior Tamara Weatherby chipped in with nine points in her final collegiate contest.

Crystal Davis joined Stotler in double figures for Southern Poly with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. Winnie Markey pitched in with 10 points for the Hornets, who swiped 14 steals on the day.