Box Score
Mobile, AL-The Belhaven women's basketball team fell to Spring Hill College on the road Thursday night in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference action 53-51 and was the first GCAC win for the Badgers this season. The Blazers had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but a field goal attempt by Jira Williams was off the mark as Spring Hill held on for the win. Belhaven had prevailed 74-72 in Overtime against Spring Hill in the first matchup of the season on January 25th.

Both teams struggled on offense in the first half and after the opening 20 minutes Spring Hill (3-22, 1-14 GCAC) held a 23-19 advantage over Belhaven. The game went back and forth in the second half and stayed tight through the final three minutes of the contest. The Blazers grabbed a one point edge at 47-46 with 3:23 to go on a two point field goal by Courtney Ward after Kristi Ybarra put the Badgers on top a few seconds earlier.

With 2:26 left on the clock, Spring Hill managed to reclaim the lead on a field goal by Robynetta Hargrave making the score 48-47. The basket was set up on a steal by Hargrave who in turn went the length of the floor for the fast break bucket. However, Belhaven would not back down as Williams got inside and knocked in a layup with 2:04 left in the second half once again giving the Blazers a slight edge at 49-48.

Unfortunately, it would be the final time Belhaven (13-13, 4-11 GCAC) would enjoy the lead for the rest of the game. The Badgers proceeded to go on a 4-0 run and jumped back ahead 52-49 following a pair of free throws by Kristin Rogers with 1:13 to play in the second half. Brittany Carr brought the Blazers back to within one point at 52-51 with 58 seconds to play, but Belhaven could not capitalize on two more late opportunities to either take the lead or tie the game as Spring Hill went on to secure the 53-51 win.

The Blazers were led by Octavia Mullins who tossed in 13 points while also grabbing a team high eight rebounds. Brittany Carr was the only other Blazer to land in double digits in scoring with 11 points on the night. Williams finished the game with eight points and one of the bright spots for Belhaven was Courtney Fountain who scored a season high eight points with a 4 for 5 shooting night from the field.

As a team, Belhaven shot 37.5 percent from the field, were 0 for 5 from behind the three point arc, and converted 52.9 percent of their free throw opportunities. The Blazers defense forced 23 Spring Hill turnovers, but for one of the rare times this season lost the rebounding battle 39-32. Going into Thursday's game, Belhaven was ranked 5th in the nation in offensive rebounding hauling down an average of 17.7 offensive boards per contest.

Spring Hill had three players reach double figures in scoring led by Ybarra with 16 points. Rogers finished the night with 14 points while Lynleigh Hughes added 11 points. Hargrave was Spring Hill's leading rebounder as she pulled down a game high 10 boards. As a team, the Badgers made good on 41.7 percent of their field goals, 27.8 percent of their three pointers, and converted 47.1 percent of their free throw opportunities.

Belhaven will hit the court again on Saturday when they travel to Loyola University for another GCAC matchup. The Blazers topped the Wolfpack in the first meeting of the season 51-48 on January 21st. Saturday's tipoff is slated for 3:00 PM.