MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The seeds for the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament were announced earlier this week by the league office. Belhaven earned the final spot in the SSAC's West Division and will play the East's fourth-seeded Emmanuel Lions on Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 at the Cramton Bowl Sports Complex.

"Getting into the tournament has been the goal of this team all season," second year Head Coach Rusty Cram said. "It has been challenging but satisfying to watch them grow together."

Belhaven has seen a roller coaster of a season, dropping eight of their first nine SSAC contests before winning seven of their final nine to earn the final spot in the tournament. The season turned around for the Blazers as they brought in the month of February with a 63-60 upset over rival William Carey at Rugg Arena.

Belhaven added four consecutive wins after that game, including defeats of two teams ranked in the NAIA's Top 25. The Blazers needed to win their final two games of the season to qualify for the tournament and would eventually do that in a pair of thrillers.

Senior night saw Belhaven forward Erika LeFlore score 11 points and grab 12 rebounds as one of three Blazers with a double-double, and the Green and Gold held on for a 49-47 victory over Loyola. In the final regular season game of the year, the Blazers upset SSAC newcomer Martin Methodist in double overtime behind the effort of Ariel Wilson's career-high 32 points.

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 Emmanuel College.

The two teams met just once in the regular season in a late November matchup at Rugg Arena that saw the Blazers emerge with a 72-60 victory. Wilson went for a game-high 21 points and TaShayla Steede posted a double-double. Belhaven had a tough time defending Alesia Fagin's team-high 18 points, however, and 29 Blazer fouls turned into 32 points at the free throw line for their guests.

Both squads have improved since November, and each will go into the SSAC tournament knowing that the first game is a must-win in order to play Loyola on Thursday.

"Now that we are here, the question becomes whether or not we can refocus with a new goal," Cram said. "I am excited to see if our ladies can answer that."