Box Score
Shreveport, LA-It was a tough night for the Belhaven women's basketball team on Saturday, falling to the Lady Pilots of LSU-Shreveport 75-49. The Lady Blazers now stand at 11-5 overall and 2-2 in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. The Lady Pilots, who are ranked 22^nd in the latest NAIA Division I Top 25 Poll, are now 14-1 overall and remain perfect in league play at 4-0.

                                      

Belhaven never led in Saturday's game against the Lady Pilots. LSU-Shreveport scored the first two baskets of the game and quickly led 4-0. Jira Williams pulled Belhaven to within one point of the lead on a field goal with 16:24 to go in the first half. The Lady Pilots then increased the lead to ten points for the first time at 18-8 with 13:37 in the opening half on a basket by Janai Sells.

 

The Lady Blazers then went on a 5-0 run to close the gap to five points on a three pointer by Williams and a two point bucket by Holly Dial with 12:05 left in the half. Unfortunately, it's the closet Belhaven would get for the rest of the game. The Lady Pilots countered by reeling off five straight points to push their lead back to ten at 23-13 and closed out the half with a 42-28 advantage.

 

The Lady Blazers struggled to find their offense in the opening 20 minutes of play, hitting just 37 percent of their shots. LSU-Shreveport on the other hand connected on 50 percent of their attempts from the field to help build the 14 point halftime lead.

 

LSU-Shreveport came out strong in the second half by building the lead to 20 points over the first 8:30 minutes of the second period. From there, the Lady Pilots cruised to the 75-49 win. Belhaven's offensive struggles continued over the course of the second half, going 8 of 31 from the field in the final period. The Lady Blazers forced 25 Lady Pilot turnovers and had a 33-32 edge in the rebounding department, but it was not enough to overcome the lack of offense.

 

Jira Williams had a good night for Belhaven leading the team in points with 17 on 7 of 16 shooting from the field. Jaelyn Stringer had eight points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots on the night. For the game, the Lady Blazers shot 31 percent from the field and converted 46 percent of their free throw opportunities.

 

The Lady Pilots had four players reach double figures in scoring led by Quan Joseph with 19 points. Valerie Huizar and Whitney Hollins each had 11 points followed by Jamien Arvie with 10 points. Arvie also recorded a double double by grabbing a game high 10 rebounds. LSU-Shreveport made 46.4 percent of their shots and 54.8 of their free throws.

 

Belhaven returns home on Thursday to face off against Dillard University in another GCAC conference contest. The Tip-Off is slated for 5:30 PM.