MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The seeds for the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament were announced on Sunday afternoon by the league office. Belhaven earned the third seed in the SSAC West and will play the two seed in the East, Southern Polytechnic, on Thursday evening at 8:00 PM at the Crampton Bowl Sports Multiplex.

Belhaven has had a wild ride to the SSAC Clash of 2013, starting out slow in conference play before winning four of their last five games against league foes. Three of those wins came at home and included an impressive victory over then No. 24 Auburn-Montgomery.

The Blazers finished with a conference record of 10-8 and a 13-16 mark overall in a schedule that was arguably one of the toughest in the SSAC, if not the nation.

Belhaven is hoping that their battle-tested team can register a few upset victories in the tournament to get back to the NAIA National Tournament for the third straight season. The Blazers won the SSAC title last season with a remarkable run through the tourney, which punched their ticket to nationals.

The SSAC gives automatic bids to the division champions and another to the conference tournament champion. If the two division champions make the title game, a third place game will be played. However, a potential trip to the national tournament will be filled with plenty of hurdles, starting with the 24th ranked Hornets of Southern Poly.

The two teams last met over three months ago in Jackson, a game that the Hornets took 51-37. Belhaven struggled to find offensive consistency amid the shuffling of the lineup due to several injuries in the starting lineup.

Arnissa Galloway and Ashlie Billingslea led the Hornets on offense, but were also main contributors on the defensive end that led to Belhaven only scoring 37 points in the game. Leading player for Southern Poly Sarah Ogoke was held in check by Erika Leflore, scoring only six points despite averaging nearly 19 a game.

However, Ogoke and Billingslea combined for eight steals and created several fast break baskets to put the Blazers away down the stretch.

Since then the Blazers have settled into a seven-man rotation, which has helped send them into a winning frenzy during the second half of the conference slate. Belhaven will need a similar effort on defense and an improved shooting night to get past one of the best defensive teams in the country.

The winner of the game between Belhaven and Southern Poly will most likely play Faulkner, who will be matched against a play-in game winner in the first round. The Eagles won all three combined games against the Blazers and Hornets this season.

For pairings and other tournament information, check out the SSAC website here.