Box Score
New Orleans, LA-The Belhaven women's basketball team opened up the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference schedule on Thursday night with a thrilling 68-67 victory over the Dillard University Bleu Devils in New Orleans. Dillard had a chance to steal the victory with the final possession of the contest, but the Blazers defense held strong and a steal by Rachenia Powell with two seconds left on the clock secured the win.

Belhaven (10-2) opened the night strong and were clicking on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. After falling behind 2-0, Jira Williams gave the Blazers their first lead of the contest on back to back field goals making the score 4-2 with 18:24 remaining in the opening period. Three minutes later, Belhaven extended the advantage to five points at 12-7 on a jumper by Brittany Carr after she had secured a defensive rebound following a Bleu Devil missed shot.

Dillard (7-3) then fought back to even things up at 18-18 with just over nine minutes left until halftime. Cheyney Hill was able to bag a free throw following a foul on Powell and just like that it was a brand new game. The game didn't stay deadlocked for long as Belhaven put together an 11-0 run to surge back on top 29-18 with three minutes showing on the clock. Octavia Mullins capped the run with a pair of free throws after hauling in one of her six offensive boards in the game. However, the Bleu Devils did not back down and closed the gap to four points when the buzzer sounded sending Belhaven into the locker room with a 31-27 lead.

Dillard continued to feed off the momentum they gained in the first half and managed to build a six point lead at 45-39 with just over 14 minutes to play in the contest. Belhaven countered quickly and the offense got back on track thanks to some key jump shots by Jordin Mauk and solid free throw shooting by Courtney Ward and Jessica Barlow as the Blazers regained the lead 49-48 with 1:25 to go.

The game went back and forth over the final minutes and Belhaven held a slim 68-65 advantage with under a minute left in the second half. Dillard then cut it to one on a layup by Jazzmin Smith and got the ball back following a missed jump shot in the lane by Williams. With 17 seconds on the clock, Dillard tried to set up their offense, but the Belhaven defense was up to the challenge forcing the turnover and ending the game.

The Blazers were led on offense by Jessica Barlow who had 15 points off the bench and she also contributed in a big way on the boards with a game high 12 rebounds. Jordin Mauk had her best game of the season so far with 14 points as she was a perfect six for six from the field. Belhaven had solid play from their bench Thursday night as they posted 39 of the 68 points. Brittany Carr and Jira Williams rounded out the double digit scorers with 12 points and 11 points respectively. Williams and Ward both led the Blazers in assists with eight.

As a team, Belhaven knocked down 45.6 percent of their field goals, 50 percent of their three pointers, and converted 65 percent of their opportunities at the charity stripe. Belhaven also owned the boards with a 42-29 edge and forced 20 Bleu Devil turnovers.

Dillard was paced by Ariel Mitchell who had a game high 19 points while Smith tallied 16 points on the evening. Syrena Edwards chipped in 10 points to round out the double digit scorers for the Bleu Devils. Dillard ended the night shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from behind the arc, and made only 46.7 percent of their free throw opportunities.

Belhaven will return home on Saturday night to battle William Carey in another Gulf Coast Athletic Conference showdown in Rugg Arena. The tipoff with the Crusaders is slated for 5:00 PM.