JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven women's basketball team returns to the hardwood Thursday, stepping back into American Southwest Conference (ASC) competition with Howard Payne before wrapping up the weekend with Sul Ross State on Saturday inside Rugg Arena to begin the 2017 portion of the schedule.

Thursday's contest against HPU will be at 5:30 p.m., while Saturday's matchup against SRSU is slated for a 1 p.m. tip. 

Coming off a 79-69 victory against Covenant on New Year's Eve, the Green and Gold (6-5) will look to continue their success on their own floor. Belhaven, in five home games, has won four matchups, with the defeat a three-point loss to Huntingdon on Nov. 22. 

Candler Gregory leads BU in scoring at Rugg Arena. The senior is averaging 12.4 points per contest at home, and is shooting 21-for-29 (72 percent) from the charity stripe. 

Samara Dingiswayo, averaging 11.2 points at home, is shooting 44.7 percent (21-for-47) from the field, is stepping up on the glass, averaging 5.2 per game. She has also dished out nine assists and seven blocks on the familiar hardwood. 

Following a career performance on Saturday, Sierra Pittman is averaging 11.0 points at Rugg Arena, and she is shooting 17-for-27 (63 percent) from the field. After a career-best seven assists in the win against Covenant, the senior has 15 home dimes. 

Leading BU at home with seven boards a game, Vamikka Smith has blocked five shots inside Rugg Arena in 2016-17.

Even though Belhaven is shooting 37 percent from the field on the season, the Green and Gold is shooting 41 percent at home, and are outscoring their opponents, 70-65, in their five home games.

This weekend's contests will be the final matchups against the ASC West. Belhaven is 1-3 against the ASC West, and this is the first conference games at home this season. The Blazers, starting next weekend, will play each team in the ASC East twice: Louisiana College, East Texas Baptist, LeTourneau, UT Tyler, UT Dallas and Ozarks.

Preview: Howard Payne University
Coming of an 87-85 victory against Louisiana College, the Yellowjackets are 8-5 on the year, and the 5-1 mark in ASC play leads the Western division. Their lone loss in conference play is with UT Dallas, where the Comets are a perfect 4-0 in ASC play. 

The Yellowjackets have two players who are averaging 15 points per game each. Micah Cisneroz is totaling 15.9 points per game, third in the ASC, while Sarahi Castillo has 15.6 points per game, fourth in conference. Castillo is leading the rebounding game for HPU, averaging 9.4 boards per contest, placing her third-best in the ASC. 

Their 72 points per game as a team is third in the ASC, and HPU leads the league in blocks (5.0), assists (16.1) and steals (15.4). 

This is the second meeting between the two schools, with the Yellowjackets taking last year's matchup in overtime, 74-70. 

Preview: Sul Ross State University
The Lobos are travelling east to take on Louisiana College Thursday before hitting Jackson on Saturday. SRSU, after starting the season 5-2, have dropped five of their last six games, and are 3-2 in ASC play. 

Ellyn Avery leads SRSU in scoring, averaging 11.9 points per game, while assisting on 4.2 per game. The senior is totaling 5.8 boards per contest. 

Also averaging double figures is Katy Boren, who is at 11.7 per game heading into the weekend. The junior is shooting 37 percent (42-for-113) from downtown. 

Miles Kenya is shooting 44 percent (44-for-99) from the field, while totaling 43 offensive rebounds, good for fifth in the ASC. The sophomore, with 101 rebounds on the season, is averaging 7.8 per game. 

This will be the second matchup between the Lobos and the Blazers, with the Green and Gold defeating SRSU last season, 63-49.

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