Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven women's basketball team forced 24 LSU-Shreveport turnovers, but could not cool off a hot shooting Pilot team that made good on 51.9 percent of their field goals in route to a 75-67 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference win Thursday night over the Blazers. Belhaven rallied in the second half to tie the score after trailing by as many as 15 points in the final period, but LSUS made some key baskets down the stretch to pull away for the win.

The Pilots came out of the gate strong and quickly jumped ahead 12-3 with just over four minutes gone by in the first half following a three pointer by Valerie Huizar to cap the run. The Blazers then sparked their offense to get back in the game by reeling off a 12-2 run to grab a 15-14 advantage with 9:47 on the first half clock. Courtney Ward's jumper gave Belhaven (10-4, 1-2 GCAC) their first lead since the opening seconds and capped off the offensive spurt. However, the lead didn't last long as the Pilots engineered a 9-3 run to retake the lead at 23-18 with only 6:24 remaining until halftime. LSUS expanded the Blazer deficit to eight point's right before halftime on a jumper by Tynekqua Warren and the Pilots held a 35-27 lead when the first half buzzer sounded.

LSU-Shreveport (8-3, 1-2 GCAC) continued to build on their lead in the first couple of minutes of the second half thanks to a 9-2 run that put them up 44-29. The Blazers did not back down and over the next 13 minutes rallied to knot the score at 55-55 with just under six minutes to go on the game. Belhaven got the offense rolling again on a jump shot by Jessica Barlow and a pair of free throws by Ward evened up the contest and completed the 26-11 Blazer run. A few seconds later, Callie Davis gave the lead back to LSUS on two free throws and Belhaven could get no closer the rest of the way as the Pilots pulled away for the 75-67 victory.

Jira Williams led the Belhaven offense with 14 points followed by Karli Kenley with 12 points on the night. Octavia Mullins posted a game high 10 rebounds and added eight points while Ward dished out four assists and tallied eight points against the Pilots. For one of the rare times this season, Belhaven lost the battle of the boards 41-31 to LSUS. The difference in the game boiled down to field goal shooting for the Blazers who shot just 36.4 percent from the field compared to 51.9 percent for the Pilots. Belhaven made good on 27.8 percent of their three pointers and had a good night at the free throw line by knocking down 77.8 percent of their opportunities from the stripe.

Sharday Cotton had a big night for LSU-Shreveport with 17 points and eight rebounds to lead all scorers. TiKandis Edwards added 14 points while Valerie Huizar and Renalda Stafford rounded out the double digit scorers for the Pilots with 13 points each. Huizar was also effective in finding her teammates for open shots with a game high seven assists. The Pilots dropped in 31.8 percent of their shots from behind the arc and converted 70 percent of their attempts at the charity stripe.

Belhaven will try and get back on track Saturday when they host the University of Mobile in another GCAC matchup in Rugg Arena. The tipoff is slated for 5:00 PM.