Box Score
New Orleans, LA-The Belhaven women's basketball team ran into a tough Xavier University of New Orleans team Thursday night falling to the Gold Nuggets 67-43 in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference action. The Blazers got off to a slow start on offense and could never recover as 23rd ranked Xavier pulled away for the win.

Brittany Powell opened the scoring for Xavier (15-5, 8-0 GCAC) with just over a minute gone by in the first half on a field goal that gave the Gold Nuggets the 2-0 edge. Belhaven came back to tie the score at 2-2 when Jira Williams got fouled on a field goal attempt and then proceeded to sink a pair of free throws with 18:19 on the first half clock. Neither team would get on the board over the next two minutes until Jasmine Grant's basket broke the tie and put Xavier back on top 4-2. Belhaven (12-7, 3-5 GCAC) then got a quick basket by Octavia Mullins to even things at four apiece with just under 16 minutes to go in the first half.

Unfortunately for the Blazers, Xavier found their rhythm and the turning point in the contest materialized over the next nine plus minutes. During that stretch, Xavier put together a 22-2 run and the result was a 20 point lead that Belhaven could not overcome. Trailing 26-6, the Blazers were held to just seven points in the final six minutes of the first half as the Gold Nuggets enjoyed a 34-13 advantage at the break.

Belhaven played better in the second half, but could not recover from their first half deficit. The Blazers made one final push to get back into the game and got to within 17 points of Xavier at 52-35 with 7:55 to play following a field goal by Sarah Carr. Belhaven had trailed by as many as 25 earlier in the second period. However, the Gold Nuggets stopped the bleeding and closed out the contest for their 15 victory of the season.

The Blazers were led by Jira Williams with 11 points followed by Jessica Barlow and Brittany Carr with nine points each. Barlow led Belhaven on the boards with seven total rebounds. Williams and Barlow have been consistent all season long for the Blazers both on offense and on the boards. Following Thursday night's contest, Williams continues to lead the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game while Barlow averages 10.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest.

As a team, turnovers were costly once again as the Blazers committed 27 miscues. Belhaven shot 32.7 percent from the field, went 0-9 from the behind the three point line, and cashed in on 56.3 percent of their free throw opportunities. Xavier had the edge in overall rebounds at 36-32.

Jasmine Grant was Xavier's top scorer on Thursday night with a game high 15 points. Brittany Powell fired in eight points and had a game high eight rebounds for the Gold Nuggets. Xavier drilled 45.3 percent of their field goals, 28.6 percent of their three point attempts, and converted 78.9 percent of their free throws.

Belhaven will be back in action on Saturday night when they travel to cross town rival Tougaloo College for another GCAC matchup. The tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.