Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven women's basketball team lost a tough one to William Carey University in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference action on Saturday night in Rugg Arena by a final score of 59-58. The Blazers put together a late rally on the strength of some hot shooting by Karli Kenley, but her final shot of the contest was blocked by Corissa Tillman at the buzzer giving the Crusaders the victory.

Belhaven (10-3, 1-1 GCAC) scored the opening basket of the game on a layup by Jessica Barlow off an assist by Courtney Ward in the first four seconds of action. However, over the next six minutes William Carey (5-6, 2-0 GCAC) outscored the Blazers 13-4 and built a 13-6 lead with 13:45 remaining in the first half. A jumper by Belhaven's Mallory Hammack sparked a mini 6-0 run and within two minutes the Blazers had pulled to within one point of the Crusaders at 13-12.

William Carey then picked it up on the offensive end of the floor and pushed their lead out to five points with just over six minutes to play in the opening half on a three pointer by Kim Lewis. With the scoreboard reading 21-16 in favor of the Crusaders, Belhaven fought back to take a 22-21 lead on Kenley's first field goal of the night. William Carey once again had an answer as they scored the next seven points and recaptured the advantage at 28-22 with just over a minute left before halftime. As was the trend throughout the first half, Belhaven came right back thanks to a pair of field goals by Brittany Carr to close out the half which brought the Blazers to within two points of William Carey at 28-26 when the first half buzzer sounded.

The first seven minutes of the second half proved to be a back and forth battle as neither team could establish a sizeable lead. Leading 36-35, William Carey found their offense once again and engineered a 10-3 run to extend their lead to seven points with 9:45 to in the game. Belhaven did not fold and within two minutes had knotted the score at 48 all with a 9-2 run that saw Kenley knock down three field goals including a triple to tie the score.

Later in the second half, Kenley dialed up another trey that put the Blazers back on top 56-55 with only 3:27 to go in the game. On the next two possessions the teams traded baskets as another layup by Kenley momentarily gave Belhaven the edge at 58-57 with 2:24 on the clock. However, the slim lead did not last long as William Carey's Kim Lewis knocked down what would proved to be the final basket of the game with 2:07 left and the Crusaders held off Belhaven the rest of the way to secure the 59-58 win.

Kenley stole the show for Belhaven scoring 19 points off the bench to lead the Blazer offense. Kenley went 8 for 10 from the field and was a perfect three for three from behind the arc in just her second game in a Blazer uniform. Jira Williams also had a good night tossing in 14 points while pulling down six rebounds. Jessica Barlow led the Blazers on the boards with 11 on the night. Courtney Ward dished out a game high six assists and along with Octavia Mullins came up with three steals.

As a team, the Blazers shot 41.1 percent from the field, went four of eight from three point land, and converted eight of sixteen free throw attempts. Belhaven had a slight 37-35 edge in the rebounding department and forced 17 Crusader turnovers.

William Carey's Consulea Tucker had a huge night for the Crusaders with a game high 23 points and 14 rebounds. Tucker drilled nine of her eleven field goal attempts and made good on five of six free throw shots. Lewis was the only other double digit scorer for William Carey with 10 points on the night. As a team, the Crusaders made 45.3 percent of their free throws, 26.7 percent of their three point opportunities, and had 46.7 percent shooting night from the free throw line.

Belhaven will return to the court on Thursday night when they host LSU-Shreveport in another GCAC contest. The tipoff in Rugg Arena is slated for 5:30 PM.