Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven women’s basketball team got back on track Tuesday night with a convincing 74-54 win over Wesley College at Rugg Arena. The Blazers had three players reach double figures in scoring and forced 27 Warrior turnovers.
Belhaven jumped in front five seconds in into the game on a field goal by Jessica Barlow, but Wesley fought back to take a 7-4 lead with 17:18 left in the first half on a three point basket by Dana Parker. Belhaven then went on a 16-2 run to take control of the game and build their first double digit lead of the contest at 20-9 thanks to a jump shot by Octavia Mullins off an assist by Sarah Carr with 13:36 on the first half clock.
Belhaven then expanded their edge to 18 points when Mullins dropped in a layup after pulling down an offensive rebound to make the score 39-21 with just under five minutes to go until the break. Wesley countered with a mini run to climb back to within 14 points at 39-25 on a basket by Brianna Blunt at the 3:18 mark of the first period. However, the Blazers quickly regrouped and reeled off six straight points with the final two points coming on a layup by Barlow with 39 seconds before intermission. Neither team could score in the final seconds as the halftime buzzer sounded with Belhaven holding a 45-25 lead.
The Blazers came out strong in the second half and continued to pressure the basketball creating scoring opportunities on the other end of the floor. Six minutes into final period Belhaven pushed the lead to 27 points at 55-28 on a pair of free throws by Mullins and with 11:14 to go in the game the Blazers enjoyed their largest lead of the night at 63-28. At that point, Belhaven had the game well in hand although Wesley continued to fight down the stretch and eventually trimmed the Blazers lead back to 20 points at 74-54 as the final buzzer sounded.
Mullins led the Belhaven offense with a team high 13 points and six rebounds off the bench. Jira Williams finished the night with 12 points and five rebounds while Brittany Carr also had a solid game with 10 points and six rebounds. Williams had four assists and came up with seven steals to pace the Belhaven defense. As a team, the Blazers hit 41 percent of their field goal attempts, 25 percent of their three point shots, and 61 percent of their free throws. Belhaven also dominated the boards with a 49-34 edge in the rebound column. The Blazers tallied 15 assists as a team with seven different players dishing out at least one assist. Belhaven turned the ball over 20 times compared to 27 turnovers by the Warriors which led to 26 Blazer points.
Brianna Blunt had a nice game for Wesley leading all scorers with 21 points while pulling down six rebounds. Dana Parker followed Blunt with 19 points and three boards. The Warriors made just 32 percent of their field goals and went just 3 of 17 from behind the three point arc. Wesley converted 65.2 percent of their free throw opportunities.
Belhaven will hit the court again on Thursday night when they host Mid-Continent University in Rugg Arena. The opening tipoff is slated for 6:00 PM.