Box Score
Jackson, MS- The Belhaven women's basketball defeated Faulkner University in Rugg Arena Thursday night by the final score of 73-66. The game was a hard fought contest from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer. The Blazers managed to pull the game out with a combination of players contributing to the win. 

Belhaven (16-5, 4-1 SSAC) was led on the offensive end of the floor by Regena Jackson who is currently averaging 15.6 points per game after she dropped in 17 points Thursday night with a team high eleven assists. Kiara Johnson turned in 15 points on the night and had three steals. Three players notched 11 points on the night which included Jessica Barlow, Sarah Carr and Portia Tucker. Barlow led the team in steals with four while Carr went 3-4 from three point land and Tucker had a team high seven rebounds. As a team, the Blazers forced the Eagles into 19 turnovers leading to 25 points off of turnovers. 

The Blazers shot 44.3% from the field and 50% from three point range going 3-3 in the second half. Belhaven's bench outscored the Eagles bench 13-8 as Tucker was the leading scorer off the Blazer bench with 11 points. 

Faulkner University (15-5, 2-2 SSAC) was paced by Brittney Carter with 32 points and a team high 21 rebounds. Leticia Cuellar turned in 11 points while Vittoria Poole and Katie Pavlik chipped in six points apiece. The Eagles out rebounded the Blazers 54-31 and outscored the Blazers 38-36 in points in the paint. The Eagles shot 38.0% from the field and 88.9% from the free throw line. 

The Eagles opened the game up well out scoring the Blazers 11-6 en route to gaining a five point advantage with just seven minutes gone by in the first half. The Blazers then get on track with a layup by Portia Tucker at the 11:00 mark to take a 13-10 lead. Both teams began trading baskets at the 8:16 mark. The Eagles took a one point lead and then the Blazers countered that with a basket by Mycal Smith to take a one point lead 17-16. With just over a minute left in the half, Regena Jackson hit a jumper to put the Blazers up two. The Eagles Leticia Cuellar then countered with a jumper to tie the game up at 24 going into the break. 

The Blazers came out strong in the second half with a 13-6 run to make the score 37-31 at the 15:38 mark. Regena Jackson then hit a three to give the Blazers their largest lead of the night of nine at 50-41 with 11:48 to go. The Eagles' Brittney Carter cut the lead to four with a layup with just under nine minutes left on the clock. Carter then hit a layup with 1:09 left in the game to make the score 66-62. The Blazers finished off the game with key free throws by Regena Jackson, Kiara Johnson and Jessica Barlow. All of the free throw attempts came under 40 seconds to extend their lead and wrap the game up with a final score of 73-66. 

The win brings the Blazers season record to 16-5 and a 4-1 in Southern States Athletic Conference play. You can catch up with the Blazers on Saturday as they travel to take on Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL. Belhaven, who received votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll, owns a half game lead in the SSAC West Division over the University of Mobile who is 3-1 in league play. The tip-off for Saturday's game at Spring Hill is set to begin at 2:00 PM.