Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven women's basketball team snapped a seven game skid Monday night with a 67-57 win over Dillard University in the play in round of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at Rugg Arena. The Blazers won all three meetings with Dillard this season and move on to face top seeded Xavier University of New Orleans on the road Wednesday night.

Nearly two minutes went off the clock before either team could put points on the board. Belhaven (14-16) opened the scoring on a free throw by Jira Williams, but then Dillard took a slight edge on two free throws by Ariel Mitchell with 18:04 on the first half clock. Stasha Thomas then scored two of her game high 16 points on a layup putting the Blazers back on top at 3-2. Dillard (11-18) regrouped to take a 5-3 advantage on a three point shot by Jessica Small with 16:09 to go in the half, but it would be the final time Dillard would be in front the rest of the game.

With the contest tied 12-12 at the 10:51 mark of the first half, Belhaven went on an 8-3 run to build their largest lead of the opening period. Sarah Carr got things going with a three point shot and Mallory Hammack dialed up a trey making the score 20-15 with 7:35 left to play until halftime. The Blazers closed out the first half owning a 32-28 lead over the Bleu Devils at the break.

Belhaven came out strong in the second half and engineered a 14-0 run to begin the final period. Hammack got the run started on a jumper in the paint while Thomas capped the scoring burst on a jump shot with 14:31 left in the contest. Leading 46-28, the Blazers maintained a double digit lead up until the 5:11 mark of the second half. Jazzmin Smith connected on a free throw shot to pull Dillard within nine points at 61-52, but an old fashion three point play by Octavia Mullins shutdown the comeback bid as the Blazers went on to the 67-57 win.

Thomas's 16 points was a season and career high as she helped ignite a Belhaven offense that had been struggling over the last few games. Jira Williams finished the night with 14 points and Sarah Carr added 10 points to round out the Blazers double digit scorers. Rachenia Powell, Courtney Ward, and Brittany Carr all dished out five assists. Thomas not only led the team in scoring, but also hauled in a game best seven rebounds. Hammack and Brittany Carr each collected six boards on the night.

As a team, Belhaven hit 35.8 percent of their field goals, 35.7 percent of their shots from behind the arc, and 66.7 percent of their free throw attempts. The Blazers had a slight edge in rebounding at 47-45 and forced 27 Dillard turnovers which led to 22 points.

The Bleu Devils were paced by Alrieon Bevins with 11 points and seven rebounds. Syrena Edwards and Guylene Nsiewe each tallid sevens points in the contest. The Bleu Devils made 33.3 percent of their field goals, 26.3 percent of their three pointers, and 48.5 percent of their opportunities at the free throw line.

Belhaven will now face Xavier on the road in the quarterfinals of the GCAC Tournament Wednesday night. The Blazers lost both meetings of the season with the Gold Nuggets losing 67-43 on January 28th and 54-45 February 11th. Wednesday night's tipoff is slated for 7:00 PM in New Orleans.