Pulaski, TN - The University of La Verne women's basketball team continued their opening season road trip taking the court against the Firehawks of the University of Tennessee Southern.

The Leopards took the court less than twenty-four hours after defeating Oakwood University. The Leopards opened the first quarter playing from behind, as the Firehawks jumped out to an early 21-12 lead after one period of play. La Verne flipped the tables in the second period, scoring twenty-one points in the quarter to close the deficit to seven points at halftime. Jazzlyn Johnson paced the Leopards with 9 points in the opening half of play. La Verne would take their first lead of the contest at 61-60 and hold the lead for three minutes before Tennessee Southern reclaimed the lead. La Verne would fight to reclaim control of the contest but would be defeated by the Firehawks by a final score of 79-72. Head coach Jason Pruitt talked about his team's performance and this game helps them in preparation. "Basketball is a game of wins and losses. Sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn't. Tonight was a game of mental toughness. We responded to the early run but did not respond to the free-throw challenge. Any time you can't convert at the charity stripe, it's hard to win. This was a good tune-up for our regular season. I'm proud of the way we competed, now we just have to make the necessary adjustments. Looking forward to this journey with this group of brilliant young ladies."

Chiara Brown led La Verne with 18 points and Dawson Bell grabbed 9 boards in the game. 

La Verne returns to action on November 13th at North Alabama. The tipoff is at 3:30 PM PST.