PULASKI, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Southern women's basketball team closed out the Southern States Athletic Conference opening weekend hosting William Carey on Saturday. The Firehawks fell to 2-2 over all and 1-1 in SSAC play with a 87-75 loss.
Four Firehawks marked the scorebook in double figures.
Takiyah Goff led the Firehawks with 18 points.
Daysha Reid and
Lauren Smith both added 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds each.
Ashley Dickey contributed 12 points and had eight assists.
William Carey took advantage of an early Firehawk turnover taking the first lead of the game 4-0. Reid would go three for three and add three free throws in the opening quarter leading all scorers with nine first quarter points. WCU led 23-18 after one. UTS would shoot 6-15, 40%, in the opening segment including one of five from distance.
WCU opened up a 13 point lead before the media time out, but the Firehawks put together a 12-2 run to trail by three in the final two minutes. UTS continued to chip away at the deficit when a steal by Goff led to a fastbreak layup to slash the margin to a pair with over a minute left. WCU led 41-37 at the break. Dickey would ignite for seven points in the second quarter shooting three of six from the field with one bucket from range. As a unit, the Firehawks outscored the visitors from Mississippi 18-17 in the second stanza.
In the third, Smith, Dickey, and Goff each scored five points each to account for the UTS offense. WCU led 57-52 after three.
A scoring drought early in the quarter led to a 14-point deficit with four minutes left to play. Hoping for another magical final four minutes, the Firehawks could only close the Crusader lead to nine with 30 seconds left.
NEXT UP
The Firehawks will hit the road and travel to New Orleans, La., to wrestle the WolfPack of Loyola on Thursday, November 21. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
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