Box Score
JACKSON, Miss. – A strong second half was not enough to knock off the third-ranked team in the NAIA, as the Blazers fell 58-50 to the Lady Lions of Freed-Hardeman University Saturday afternoon in Rugg Arena.

Coming into the game the Blazers were heavy underdogs to a team that was beating their opponents by 31 points per game on average. It was the same Freed-Hardeman team that was among the top 5 in seven offensive categories and had beaten the Blazers by 37 the last time they met, back in November.

However, the last few games have upped Belhaven's confidence in their outstanding abilities and it has showed on the court.

The Blazers never backed down from every punch that the Lady Lions threw their way, including an early barrage of shots from behind the three-point arc. Belhaven (7-10) trailed early in the game, thanks in part to the sharp-shooting of Freed-Hardeman point guard Natalie Shumpert, who finished with 18 points in the first half.

After Freed-Hardeman (17-1) built up an eight point lead, Belhaven responded with a run of its own to get back within two points. The two teams traded baskets back and forth until the final minute of the half when the Lady Lions were able to add to couple of baskets to build up a six point lead.

A Sarah Carr 25-footer just before the final buzzer of the half allowed the Blazers to get back within a possession and have a bit of momentum heading into halftime.

Much as they did on Thursday night the Blazers turned on the jets in the second half, especially on the offensive side of the floor. Ashley Wakefield had another electric second period, building off of her 22 point performance in the second half of Thursday night's game against Spring Hill.

Wakefield kicked off the second stanza with a triple of her own to tie the game, which was the first time that Belhaven had been leading or tied since the first few minutes of the contest.

The senior, combined with the dribble penetration abilities of Alisha Rayborn, helped the Blazers eventually take the lead with 15 minutes to play in the game. Only five minutes later and the Blazers had built up a six point lead, forcing the Lady Lions to take a long timeout to regroup.

The Freed-Hardeman team that came out of the timeout was the one that had earned the No. 3 ranking in the country. The Lady Lions looked sharp for the last quarter of the game and regained the lead once again with only four minutes to play.

Belhaven was never able to recover and the Lady Lions escaped Rugg Arena with a tight eight point victory over the Blazers.

Wakefield finished as the leading scorer for Belhaven with 17 points; Rayborn was the only other player in double-digits with 10 points. TaShayla Steede finished with 9 rebounds, eight on the defensive end, to lead the Blazers on the glass. Belhaven hit 41.7% of their field goal attempts (20-48) and lost the battle of the boards 47-33.

Shumpert had a game high 22 points for Freed-Hardeman followed by Ashley Tate with 10 points on the afternoon. Hayley Newby pulled down a game high 12 rebounds and teammate Amber Alexander wasn't far behind with 11 boards. The Lady Lions knocked down 20 of 63 shots from the field (31.7%).

The Blazers will get back to SSAC play when the University of Mobile comes to town on Thursday night. That game will begin at 5:30 PM.