Box Score
Jackson, MS-It wasn't pretty at times, but the Belhaven women's basketball team fought hard and pulled out a 74-72 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference victory in overtime over Spring Hill Thursday night in Rugg Arena. The contest proved to be a battle the entire night with a total of 14 ties and 18 different lead changes. Neither side could find a rhythm on offense as the defense's set the tone for the game.

Belhaven (12-6, 3-4 GCAC) got on the board first with a layup by Reneka Thompson 52 seconds into the game giving the Blazers an early 2-0 lead. Overall there wasn't a lot of scoring in the opening six minutes of action and at the 13:41 mark of the first half Belhaven found themselves in the lead 8-5 following a free throw by Courtney Ward.

Spring Hill (2-15, 0-7 GCAC) then turned the tide a bit by outscoring Belhaven 25-14 to establish what would be their biggest advantage of the game at 30-22 with 3:56 remaining until halftime. However, the Blazers responded with their biggest scoring run of the night by outpacing the Badgers over the final four minutes 11-1. The run gave Belhaven a slim 33-31 edge going into the locker room at the break.

Belhaven scored the opening bucket of the second half on a jump shot by Jira Williams and at that points led 35-31 with just under 30 seconds gone by in the final frame. The game then went back and forth from that point forward as each team traded baskets down the stretch. The ninth tie of the night came at the 12:11 mark of the second half after a layup by Spring Hill's Alexis McPhail knotted the score at 44-44. The Blazers appeared to have taken control of the game thanks to a 6-0 run that put them on top again by six at 50-44 with 10:25 left.

Once again, the Badgers had an answer and recaptured the lead at 57-55 on a three pointer by Jackie Higgenbotham with just under six minutes left in the second period. Higgenbotham's triple capped the 13-5 scoring run by the Badgers that put them back in business. Belhaven then regrouped and outscored Spring Hill over the next three minutes 9-2 to take a 64-59 lead. The Badgers still had some fight left in them and clawed right back into the contest once again. Belhaven could manage only a single point in the final 2:42 of regulation opening the door for a game tying layup by Lynleigh Hughes with only four seconds left. Belhaven could not attempt a final shot due to a turnover by Williams and time ran out sending the game to overtime tied at 65-65.

Spring Hill held the lead for the majority of the five minute overtime with the exception of three more ties that occurred in the extra period. With the game deadlocked 70-70 at the 1:32 mark, Belhaven went on a 4-0 run and led 74-70 following two free throws by Sarah Carr with 20 seconds left. On their ensuing possession, the Badgers broke a full court press and got a quick layup by McPhail with 15 seconds to play. Christina Watson then fouled Brittany Carr with eight seconds to go, but unfortunately Carr could not convert the free throw attempts leaving the door open for the Badgers. As it has all year though, the defense stepped up in the final seconds and forced a Spring Hill turnover to secure the overtime win.

Belhaven had four players score in double figures led by Jira Williams, Brittany Carr, and Karli Kenley who each scored 12 points in the contest. Jessica Barlow added 10 points and was second on the team in rebounding with nine boards. Octavia Mullins had a big night in the paint by grabbing a game high 13 rebounds to go along with eight points. Sarah Carr ended the night with a team high four assists.

As a team, Belhaven struggled shooting the basketball posting 36.4 field percentage. The Blazers went 0-10 from the behind the three point arc and converted only 48.6 percent of their free throws due to an 18 for 37 night at the charity stripe. However, Belhaven made up for their lack of shooting by outrebounding the Badgers 55-47 and forced 22 Spring Hill turnovers.

Spring Hill had four players land in double figures with Lynleigh Hughes and Alexis McPhail who each tallied 19 points. Kristi Ybarra added 14 points and Robynetta Hargrave chipped in 13 points while pulling down nine rebounds. The Badgers made 35.3 percent of their field goals, 27.3 percent of their three pointers, and 78.3 percent of their free throws.

Belhaven will hit the road on Thursday when they travel to Xavier University in New Orleans for another GCAC showdown. The tipoff is slated for 5:30 PM.