JACKSON, Miss. - After a 2-1 homestand to start the 2016-17 season, the Blazers women's basketball team makes its first road trip of the season, as they open American Southwest Conference (ASC) play with Concordia Texas Thursday and Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday. 

Due to UMHB's quarterfinal football game in the NCAA Division III Championship on Saturday afternoon, Belhaven's matchup with the Cru will tip off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday's contest with Concordia Texas is still scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tip. 

This weekend's games begin the first of six games against the ASC West. The Blazers, who live in the ASC East, will play each divisional team twice beginning in January. 

Belhaven (2-1) will make the trip to Austin and Belton, Texas, respectively, after coming off a heartbreaking 73-70 loss to Huntingdon on Nov. 22. The Blazers were led by senior point guard Sierra Pittman with 15 points, followed by Samara Dingiswayo, who scored 12 for the Green and Gold. 

For the second consecutive week, the Green and Gold were ranked in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Top 10 Rankings. Belhaven was ranked ninth in the latest poll, announced by the National Office Tuesday afternoon.

Coming off a 59-45 win against Southwestern, Concordia starts the 2016-17 campaign with a 4-0 mark. Even though the Tornados are ninth in the ASC in scoring (65.2 per game), they have limited their opponents to an average of 55 points per game, good for second in the conference. 

Through their four games, CTX is second in field goal percentage (42 percent) and leads the ASC in 3-point shooting (38 percent). 

Mercedes Ellison leads the Tornados with an average of 15.5 points per game, good for a tie for third in the ASC. Raven Cato is averaging 5.8 per game on the glass. 

Mary Hardin-Baylor is coming off a 77-66 loss to ASC opponent Ozarks in Clarksville, Ark. on Tuesday. The Cru (4-2) are third in the conference in scoring (69.2 points per game), and they are also leading on the rebounding efforts as well, averaging 48.2 boards per game. Of the team's 289 rebounds, 112 are on the offensive end, which is also tops in the ASC. 

Kendra Wynn is leading UMHB with 12.2 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game, which is good for fifth in the ASC. 

Meghan Turner is dishing out the dimes for the Cru. Currently tied for fifth in the ASC, Turner is averaging 3.5 assists per contest. 

The Blazers will be seeking redemption in their contests this weekend compared to last season's matchups. The Blazers fell to both the Tornados (57-41) and the Cru (72-57) inside Rugg Arena in Jackson last December. 

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