MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner put together its best stretch at the most opportune time Saturday as it used a late run to put away Tennessee Southern 77-64. The Lady Eagles clung to a one-point lead after Silkiari Vazquez-Troche knocked down a layup with 31 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Faulkner responded with one of its best possessions of the game, rotating the ball all over the floor and burning shot clock before Avery Rogers kicked it to Audrey Blaine in the corner. The Wentzville, Mo. freshman got the ball off her fingertips moments before the buzzer sounded to knock down the corner three for the 61-57 advantage.

The moment sparked what turned into a 15-0 Lady Eagle run that allowed Keyarra Scottland's three and a pair of free throws to move the advantage to 73-57 with just 4:30 left in the game.

The Firehawks started the game with a flourish, knocking down a pair of threes out of the gate to go up 6-0 before quickly running the lead to 10-2. But a pair of Rogers triples sandwiched around a Scottland layup leveled things for Faulkner with 5:44 remaining in the opening quarter. That offensive sequence predicated a 30-12 Lady Eagle run that put the home team up 32-22 just seconds into the second quarter.

Turnovers plagued Faulkner throughout the opening 20 minutes as 10 giveaways allowed for 15 UTS points and left the game at a one-point margin heading into the locker room. As she did much of the afternoon, Scottland ignited things quickly in the third quarter with a knockdown jumper. Still, Faulkner never got the lead higher than four points in the period before watching a Lauren Smith layup tie things up with 2:32 remaining.

Scottland answered the call again 18 seconds later when she parlayed a Morgan Holland DeWitt pass into a three to give Faulkner the lead again. The advantage remained at one possession until the Blaine three that ended the third quarter.

The Lady Eagles proved relentless on the glass, snagging 44 rebounds in the contest while limiting UTS to just 28. Faulkner held the Firehawks to 39.7 percent shooting from the floor, buoyed by a fourth quarter in which they allowed UTS to make only three of 12 attempts in a seven-point effort. For its part, Faulkner shots 45.8 percent from the floor, including 40.7 percent from three on 11 makes.

Scottland led the way for Faulkner with 21 points while Ruthie Smith added 14. Holland DeWitt had 10 points and 13 boards to go along with four assists while Brett Douglas grabbed a career high 11 rebounds.

Faulkner (7-1, 2-0 SSAC) returns to action Tuesday when it travels to McKenzie, Tenn. to take on No. 2 Bethel University.