NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Lady Eagles trailed for most of the game but finished on a 17-6 run to notch a gutsy 61-55 road victory over Dillard Saturday.

Trailing 49-44 to open the fourth quarter, Faulkner got a quick scoring burst from Nequoia Adams. The sophomore point guard hit a free throw on one trip and drained a three on the next to narrow the deficit to 49-48 with 7:51 to play. Free throws helped the Bleu Devils stretch the lead to 52-49 before Adams struck again. Her layup with 6:07 left sliced the deficit to 52-51. Ayani Cockrell answered at the other. Adams converted a Kinlee Varnell pass into a layup with 4:26 left to put the Lady Eagles down 54-53.

Angela Grant dished off to Varnell for a layup with 2:42 left, putting Faulkner up 55-54. Morgan Holland added to the advantage off an Adams pass at the 1:32 mark, moving the lead to 57-54. Varnell and Holland each cashed in on their free throw opportunities in the waning seconds to ice the win.

Faulkner's defense limited Dillard to six points in each of the second and fourth quarters, helping it to thwart the Bleu Devils despite shooting being outshot 71-50. Faulkner made 48 percent of its attempts from the floor while Dillard shot 28.2 percent. The Lady Eagles lost the rebound battle 39-34 but won points off turnovers 17-15 and points in the paint 40-32.

Holland topped Faulkner with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Adams added 16 points. Grant and Varnell each finished with 10 points.

Faulkner (5-1, 1-0 SSAC) returns to action Tuesday at 5 p.m. when it travels to face Pensacola Christian.