Box Score PULASKI, Tenn. – The Belhaven University Women's Basketball team fell to Martin Methodist College Friday night 55-51 in the Blazers first game of 2015.
 
Belhaven (8-5, 2-2 Southern States Athletic Conference) started off behind, going down by as much as eight points early on, but the Blazers were able to capitalize on a 14-point swing over a 12-minute period to open up as much as a six-point lead in the first half.
 
But, the Red Hawks (11-2, 2-2 SSAC) were able to answer back late in the first half, negating the six-point lead in the final 2:56 to tie the game at 27 heading into the break.
 
The Green and Gold defense proved to be strong in the second half, forcing Martin Methodist to just 29 percent shooting. However, the Red Hawks were able to convert several offensive rebounds into second-chance points and Belhaven also shot just 29 percent from the field.
 
The Red Hawks capitalized on the extra opportunities to outscore Belhaven in the second 20 minutes by four.
 
For the game, Martin Methodist outrebounded the Blazers 49-38, but the difference came almost completely on the offensive glass where MMC had 20 rebounds to Belhaven's 10.
 
Ariel Wilson led all players in scoring, finishing with 19 points in the game. She also collected seven rebounds, second most for the Blazers in the game.
 
TaShayla Steede led the way for Belhaven on the boards, finishing with nine rebounds to go along with seven points. Steede also finish with a game high two blocks.
 
Narshanda Malone was the only other Blazer in double-digits on the night, finishing with 11 points in the contest.
 
Belhaven finished the game going 19-for-52 from the field and just 2-for-12 from beyond the three-point line. The Blazers were also just 11-for-22 from the free-throw line.
 
The Blazers will return to action tomorrow with a 2 p.m. CT tip off against Brenau University.