BELTON, Texas - The Belhaven women's basketball team dropped its American Southwest Conference (ASC) contest to the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders, 68-53, Saturday evening in the Mayborn Campus Center. 

The two teams played back-and-forth for the most part of the game. The Blazers (2-3) were able to claim the early lead, 10-9, thanks to a Tajee Harper jump shot. Belhaven kept their lead for only a minute and a half, and UMHB reclaimed the lead for good. 

At halftime, the Cru (5-2) led by nine, 31-23, but the Blazers started out shooting lights out from downtown in the third stanza, thanks to two 3-pointers by Candler Gregory to start the half on a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to three, 32-29. The Cru, however, would get the lead back to nine, 42-33 with 3:47 remaining in the quarter. The Blazers went into the fourth quarter trailing by seven, 46-39. 

The Green and Gold started the fourth quarter with back-to-back jump shots by Rolonda Washington and Samara Dingiswayo to get the deficit to a three-point contest, 46-43 with seven minutes remaining. However, the Cru handled the next 4:33, outscoring the Blazers, 12-2, to push the lead to double digits for the first time in the game, 58-45 to end the Blazers threat. 

Gregory drained five shots from beyond the arc and added two free throws for a game-high 17 points, which is also a season-best for the senior.

Sierra Pittman finished with nine points, while grabbing four rebounds, had three steals and assisted on three Belhaven shots. 

Dingiswayo also had three helpers to go along with her seven points and five boards. 

Vamikka Smith finished with a career-high 13 rebounds, surpassing her previous mark of 12 set last Dec. 12 at Huntingdon. 

The Blazers will take a break from ASC competition with a trip to Centenary on next Saturday, Dec. 10. Tipoff from Shreveport, La. is slated for 6 p.m. from the Gold Dome. 

For the latest news on Belhaven Blazers athletics, follow @BelhavenBlazers on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.