Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven women's basketball team fought hard, but could not come away with a victory over Loyola University Saturday on Senior night losing to the Lady Wolfpack 62-46. The lady Blazers are now 17-11 overall and 8-8 in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. Loyola University is 18-6 overall and 14-2 in the GCAC which is tops in the conference.

 

Belhaven had an early lead in the game but saw it slip away during the course of the first half. The Lady Blazers took a 3-0 advantage on a free throw by Holly Dial and a pair of free throws from Mallory Hammack. Belhaven led by four points with 14:22 to go in the opening after Hammack drilled a triple to put the Lady Blazers up 6-2.

 

At that point, the Lady Wolfpack reeled off a 19-2 run to open up a 13 point 21-8 lead with just over seven minutes to go before halftime. The Lady Blazers were able to trim the deficit down to nine points at 31-22 heading into the locker room at halftime to stay in the game. Belhaven struggled offensively in the first half by shooting just 20 percent from the field.

 

The Lady Blazers shot a little bit better in the second half, but it wasn't enough to get back into the contest as Loyola pulled away for the win. Belhaven attempted 13 three point shots in the final 20 minutes but could get only four of those shots to fall. The Lady Blazers were also hurt by turnovers committing 20 miscues in the game.

 

Belhaven was led by Jira Williams with 15 points followed by Jaelyn Stringer with eight points and five rebounds. LaTessia Lee had a nice night on the boards as she led the team with nine rebounds in the contest. Stringer continued to play havoc on opposing offenses by swiping four more steals in Saturday's game against Loyola

 

As a team, the Lady Blazers made 25 percent of their field goals and converted 64.7 percent of their free throw opportunities. Both teams pulled down 37 total rebounds including 19 offensive rebounds for Belhaven. Trenese Smith had 23 points to lead Loyola and Christine Mainguy had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the double double.

 

Overall, it was a bitter sweet night in Rugg arena as the Lady Blazer seniors were recognized on the court following the game. Belhaven honored seniors Jamie Dominio, Holly Dial, Molly Yildirm, Jimesha Rule, Jaelyn Stringer, and Lauren McDaniel for their hard work in the women's basketball program.