Box Score NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Belhaven women's basketball team (10-13, 4-9 SSAC) picked up their second consecutive victory on Thursday night after defeating Loyola University by a final score of 69-65. With the loss, the Wolfpack dropped to 14-11 overall, including an 8-6 mark in the Southern States Athletic Conference.

(Box Score-HTML)
"This team is receiving votes, they're one of the top defensive teams in the conference, and we played them on the road," Head Coach Rusty Cram said. "We turned a big corner tonight to come away with a signature win."

Ariel Wilson paced the Blazer offense, as the freshman guard led all scorers with 22 points to match the number on her jersey. Erika LeFlore posted another double-double with 12 points and game best 16 rebounds, while TaShayla Steede added 10 points of her own.

Guards Kenya Wright, Candler Gregory and Kayla Campora combined for 22 points, a dimension the Blazer offense had been missing in recent games.

"Our three impact players on offense scored in double figures, but several others stepped up, too," Cram said. "That was absolutely the difference for us."

For the Wolfpack, Kylah Jones led the team with 18 points, while Jasmine Brewer and Megan Whittaker followed with 12 and 11, respectively. Brewer added team high seven rebounds.

Belhaven shot 38% from the floor and connected on 11 of 19 from the free throw line, while Loyola countered with a 35% effort from the field but hit 11 of 14 from the stripe. The Blazers claimed a major advantage in shots from behind the three-point arc, sinking 8 of 21, while the Wolfpack shot just 6 of 31.

The visitors out-rebounded their hosts by a tally of 50-39, though Loyola won the turnover battle 15 to 11.

The Blazers return to SSAC action on Saturday, when they look to avenge a 93-60 loss from January 23rd against Bethel. Tipoff is slated for 2:00 pm from Rugg Arena.

"We have back to back games against tough opponents, but we will be glad to get back home," Cram said. "We were never in the game against Bethel at their place, but hopefully, we will be more focused this time around."