Box Score
New Orleans, LA-The Belhaven women's basketball team traveled to Dillard University on Monday night and came away with a 77-69 win over the Bleu Devils. It was the second meeting between the two teams with the Blazers also prevailing 65-64 on November 12th. Belhaven was in a battle the entire night against a scrappy Dillard team, but some key shots late in the second half by the Blazers put them over the top for the victory.

Belhaven (15-5), who is receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll was led by a trio of players as Kiara Johnson, Regena Jackson, and Portia Tucker each tallied 15 points. Sarah Carr ended the night with 13 points and had three triples including one that turned into a four point play with just under three minutes to play in the game. That basket put the Blazers ahead for good after the game had gone back in forth in the second half. Belhaven had one other player reach double figures in the scorebook and that was Jessica Barlow who chipped in with 11 points.

On the boards, Tucker finished with a game high 15 rebounds and in the process picked up her first double double of the season. Barlow notched seven rebounds and in the assist column Jackson continued to shine with nine more Monday night. Jackson was coming off an 11 assist performance in a win at Loyola on Saturday and is this week's reining Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Jackson also had a team high three steals while Johnson came up with two in the game.

As a team, Belhaven hit 40 percent of their field goals (28-70), knocked down 26.7 percent of their triples (4-15), and 77.3 percent of their free throws (17-22). The Blazers edged Dillard in the battle of the boards 30-27 and 15 of those were on the offensive end of the floor. Belhaven came into the game ranked eighth in the NAIA in offensive rebounds per game at 17.7 per contest. The Blazers were charged with 10 turnovers compared to 16 mishaps by Dillard.

Dillard (9-11) was paced by Jasmine Bradley and Alexis Ruth with 13 points apiece. Ariel Mitchell ended the game with 11 points and Jazzmin Smith collected nine points and team high 10 rebounds. Jessica Small and Lauren Daniel dished out three assists apiece.

The Bleu Devils made 41.4 percent of their field goals (24-58), dialed up 45.4 percent of the three point attempts (5-11), but only could convert 53.3 percent of their shots at the charity stripe (16-30).

Belhaven rolled out to a 15-6 lead early in the contest and were overpowering Dillard out of the gate. Jackson opened the scoring with a layup in the opening minute and a layup by Mycal Smith put the Blazers ahead by nine points with 13:28 to go in the first frame. Belhaven kept applying the pressure and led by as when as 11 points at 20-9 with just over 11 minutes left until halftime after a Johnson bucket.

Dillard then rallied to get back within one at 24-23 on Bradley's basket with 6:49 on the clock. The Blazers countered and eventually extended their advantage out to five points 36-31 at the intermission.

With 15:28 remaining in the second half, the Bleu Devils grabbed just their second lead of the game at 43-41 on an Ariel Mitchell field goal. During the next 16 minutes the lead fluctuated back and forth with neither team owning more than a three point lead. With just under three minutes to play and the score tied at 62-62, Carr made the game changing shot drilling a triple to put Belhaven back on top for good. Carr was also fouled and completed a rare four point play to give the Blazers a 66-62 edge.

The Bleu Devils picked up a pair of Ruth free throws on the ensuing possession to make it 66-64 with 2:35 left. However, Belhaven called Carr's number again and she delivered another three pointer that took the wind out of Dillard's sails and pushed the lead back out to five points 69-64. The Blazers then held off Dillard over the final two minutes to record the 77-69 victory.

Belhaven will return to action on Thursday night when they entertain Faulkner University in an SSAC West Division contest. The tip-off in Rugg Arena is slated for 5:30 PM and fans can follow the action through live stats by clicking here.