MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Belhaven Blazers Women's Basketball team advanced to the second round of the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Wednesday afternoon with a 55-44 victory over William Carey at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex in Montgomery.
Belhaven overcame a William Carey comeback bid by outscoring the Crusaders 23-7 over the final 10 minutes to punch its ticket to the next round.
The Blazers will face No. 1 seed Bethel in the quarterfinals. The game is set for a 4:30 p.m. tip.
Through the first 15 minutes, there was not much to separate the Blazers and Crusaders as the teams stayed close and entered the final few minutes tied at 20.
However, Belhaven took a lead into the break after a 10-3 run over the final four minutes.
Ariel Wilson led the Blazers in the first half with eight points, while
Candler Gregory added six points in the slow-paced, low-scoring game.
Overall, Belhaven was 44 percent from the field in the half, while Carey finished at 40 percent. The Blazers outrebounded the Crusaders 18-13 in the half.
Despite coming out of the break ahead by seven, Belhaven's lead quickly went away as the Green and Gold was held scoreless over the first eight minutes of the second half. At the same time, William Carey used a 9-0 run to take a 32-30 lead.
TaShayla Steede scored the first points of the half for Belhaven, via a pair of free throws, but Belhaven fell behind by as much as five, trailing 37-32 with 10 minutes remaining.
Wilson then scored the first two of her nine points in the second half to begin the Blazers comeback.
Wilson finished the game with a team-high 17 points.
Jacinda Smith would go on to add six points in the second half to finish the game with 10, the only other Blazer in double digits. She also picked up a double-double as she grabbed seven of Belhaven's 17 rebounds in the second frame to finish the game with 10 boards.
Thursday's game will be the third for Belhaven against Bethel this season. The Blazers fell to the Wildcats 76-68 on January 29 in McKenzie, Tenn before dropping its home contest against the top-five squad 74-54 on February 14.
