FLORENCE — It took awhile for the shots to start falling for the North Alabama women in their home opener against Fisk University on Monday night.

But once the Lions got a few shots to drop they continued to fall as UNA pulled away in the second half to rout the Bulldogs 68-34.

The Lions (2-1) shot just 37.9 percent from the field in the first half before hitting 15 of 25 shots (60 percent) in the second half. UNA, which struggled with turnovers in its first two games, turned it over only 10 times.

“We shot the ball decently in our first two games - we just turned it over so many times we didn’t get enough shots,” coach Terry Fowler said. “It was still a little sloppy, but I’ve seen progress in every game.”

UNA took control early with its inside game. Nichelle Fillmore had six points in a 13-0 run that put the Lions up 13-2. Mekena Randle came off the bench to score eight points in the first half, including a transition layup that sent the Lions into halftime with a 23-13 lead.

The Lions scored the first eight points of the second half to go up 31-13. Lauren Faris hit the first 3-pointer of the night to spark the run. Faris and Abby Andrews each hit a trey to extend the lead to 37-21.

“We had been stressing going inside so much that we were not taking the outside shots,” Fowler said. “We told them to just relax and play basketball. Once we did that the shots started falling.”

Corinne White scored 10 points in a five-minute span as the Lions pushed their lead to 25 and continued to pull away.

White led the way with 11 points, while Fillmore, Randle and freshman Jennifer Towne each added 10 points.

UNA will play its fourth game in five days when the Lions host Tennessee Temple at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

“The only way this group is going to get better is to play,” Fowler said. “We need to p lay games, watch the film and correct our mistakes. Playing all of these games early has been good for us.”

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 256-740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@TimesDaily.com.