NEW ORLEANS, La. – The University of Tennessee Southern women's basketball team continued Southern States Athletic Conference play traveling to Louisiana to battle Loyola on Thursday. The Firehawks left "The Big Easy" with an overtime win 74-70.
UTS had five players score in double figures in the road upset of the WolfPack. Silkiari Vazquez-Troche led the way scoring 17 points with seven rebounds and eight assists. Kassidy Broussard drained three triples contributing 15 points. Ashley Dickey shot 47 percent from the floor scoring 14 points. Daysha Reid added 12 points and eight rebounds. Lauren Smith tossed in 11 points.
The Firehawks opened the game on a 9-0 run. UTS shot 67 percent in the opening two-plus minutes. Vazquez-Troche led the UTS with six points in the period. UTS led 15-14 after one
In the second quarter, Broussard exploded shooting 80 percent and being responsible for 12 of the team's points. The Firehawks shot 14 of 36 for 39 percent in the half from the field. UTS led at the break 38-32.
In the third period, Smith and Vazquez-Troche each scored five points. After three, UTS continued to expand its lead, holding a 55-48 advantage. The Firehawks connected on three trifectas shooting 37 percent in the quarter.
The WolfPack, picked first in the SSAC preseason poll, held the Firehawks to 4-16 shooting in the fourth. UT Southern held the lead for the entire game until LU made two free throws with 10 seconds left in regulation. UTS' biggest bucket of the game was a jumper by Dickey that tied the match at 63 with less than a second remaining.  
Heading to overtime, UTS fired up to lead 67-63 early. Reid and Vazquez-Troche each scored off WolfPack turnovers. UTS pulled away to a six-point lead with just over two minutes to play on another bucket by Reid. A Vazquez-Troche charity shot would put the game out of reach in the waning second.
NEXT UP
The Firehawks will travel to Montevallo, Ala., to fight the Falcons of the University of Montevallo in an exhibition affair on Nov. 26. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 pm.
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