Box Score
Jackson, MS-Points were hard to come by on Saturday night as the Belhaven women's basketball team lost to the University of Mobile in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference action 52-44 in Rugg Arena. Both teams struggled shooting the basketball in a game dominated by defense and plagued by turnovers. Neiether team shot over 30 percent from the field and the two schools combined to commit 58 turnovers.

Things looked good early for Belhaven (10-5, 1-3 GCAC) as they jumped out to a 7-1 lead three minutes into the contest. Courtney Ward converted an old fashioned three point play to get the Blazers on the board. Reneka Thompson followed with a two point field goal and Jira Williams converted a pair of free throws to cap the run. Mobile (11-3, 3-1 GCAC) got right back into the game with a 6-0 run to tie the score at 7-7 following a three point basket by Morgan Melancon with 15:55 remaining in the first half.

Belhaven fought back with a 10-2 run over the next six minutes and built what proved to be their largest lead of the game. Jira Williams finished off the offensive burst with a three point shot and at that point it looked like the Blazers might take control of the game. However, the Rams had other ideas and used an 8-0 run to tie the game back up at 17-17 after Melancon tossed in a pair of free throws with 7:39 to play before halftime.

The first half turned out to be a game of runs and it was now Belhaven's turn to regain the advantage. This time the Blazers outscored Mobile 9-2 and with just over three minutes to go before halftime Belhaven enjoyed a 26-19 lead after a free throw by Brittany Carr. Unfortunately for the Blazers, the Rams closed the gap right before the buzzer scoring the final six points of the period and Belhaven went into the locker room with a 26-25 lead.

Belhaven and Mobile exchanged baskets in the first three minutes of the second half and with 16:56 left to go in the game the scored was knotted up at 29-29. The Rams then made their final push and took the lead for good thanks to a 9-2 run that put them ahead by seven points at 38-31 with 11:30 remaining in the contest. Belhaven climbed back to within three points at 40-37 on a jumper by Jessica Barlow with 6:33 on the second half clock, but that's the closest they would get the rest of the night as Mobile pulled away for the win.

The Blazers were led by Jira Williams with nine points followed by Brittany Carr who added seven points. Barlow had nine rebounds and Mallory Hammack contributed seven boards against the Rams. As a team, Belhaven outrebounded Mobile 51-40 but were hurt by turnovers and had a tough night shooting from the field. The Blazers coughed up the ball 32 times and shot only 21.8 percent from the field. Belhaven finished the night 4 of 19 from behind the arc and converted 69.6 percent of their free throws attempts.

Mobile had a pair of players reach double digits in scoring led by Melancon with 13 points and game high six assists. Davina Jefferson added 10 points while Alice Honnery fired in nine points and hauled down nine rebounds. Honnery also had outstanding night on defense as she blocked nine Blazer shot attempts putting her a point, rebound, and another block away from a triple double. As a team, Mobile posted a 29.4 shooting percentage from the field, made 18.8 percent of their three point attempts, and converted 59.4 percent of their shots at the charity stripe. Mobile committed 26 turnovers as a team on the night.

Belhaven will try and get back on track Thursday night when they host Loyola University in another GCAC matchup in Rugg Arena. Thursday night's tip-off is slated for 5:30 PM.