Box Score
H
enderson, TN-The Belhaven women's basketball team had a strong showing at Freed-Hardeman University despite losing to the Lady Lions 76-66. The Lady Blazers are now 3-1 on the season while Freed Hardeman stayed undefeated at 3-0. The Lady Lions are ranked third in the NAIA Top 25 poll.
Things did not go well for Belhaven in the first 12 minutes of the game as they found themselves behind 32-12 with eight minutes remaining in the first half. However, the Lady Blazers fought back using an 18-4 run and some tough pressure defense to close the gap and get back into the game. The Lady Lions took a 38-30 advantage heading into the locker room.
Jira Williams and
Jaelyn Stringer paced the Lady Blazers with nine first half points. Belhaven shot 34 percent from the field and went 1- 4 from behind the three point line in the opening 20 minutes. The Lady Blazers were able to force 11 first half turnovers to help create some scoring opportunities.
In the second half, Freed Hardeman built a double digit lead again going up 56-44 with just over 12 minutes to go in the game. That's when Belhaven got aggressive on offense and went on a 13-2 run to pull within one point. Unfortunately for the Lady Blazers, they couldn't overtake the Lady Lions as Freed Hardeman hit some key free throws down the stretch to ice the game away.
Belhaven had four players score in double figures with
Jaelyn Stringer leading the way with 22 points and six steals.
Jira Williams added 12 points while
Holly Dial and Kimberley Ward each chipped in with 11 points apiece.
Brittany Skipper was Belhaven's leading rebounder with seven total boards. The Lady Blazers shot 42 percent from the field which included hitting 52 percent of their field goals in the second half. Jana Cross led Freed Hardeman in scoring with 23 points followed closely by Tara Deatheridge with 22.
Belhaven will battle Wesley College on the road in their next contest Tuesday night. The game is scheduled to get underway at 5 PM.
