JACKSON, Miss. - Trailing by 15 near the end of the first quarter, the Belhaven women's basketball team rallied the rest of the contest to eventually defeat East Texas Baptist, 77-68, on Thursday night inside Rugg Arena. 

Belhaven was off to a cold start shooting the ball, which led to an ETBU 13-2 run in a 3:31 span to push the lead to 10 points for the Tigers. After two free throws by Candler Gregory, the Tigers (3-22) pushed the lead to 15 points thanks to a layup by Hannah Holt and three-balls by Lainey Lee and Lauren Lee. 

Samara Dingiswayo drained a three late in the quarter to push the deficit down to 12, 25-13, at the end of the first stanza. 

The game's momentum would swing in favor of the Green and Gold, as the Blazers (13-11) outscored the Tigers, 18-14, to cut the deficit to eight points with a 39-31 score headed into the locker room. 

In the third, BU would cut the deficit to single digits. After a Lauren Lee jumper, the Green and Gold rallied to cut the deficit to four thanks to an 8-0 run, trailing ETBU, 41-37, with six and a half minutes remaining. 

East Texas Baptist kept their lead in the third quarter with the 3-pointer, but Ke'Asia Gray earned three points the old fashioned way. Down 47-39 wth 4:17 to go in the quarter, Gray, in back-to-back possessions, earned the hoop and the harm on both times down the floor to cut the deficit back to four. 

 Another three-point play for the Magee, Miss. native pushed the deficit to one, trailing 53-52 heading into the fourth quarter. 

The Tigers tried to pull away in the early part of the frame, but two 3-pointers by Dingiswayo kept the Green and Gold in it. The Blazers eventually grabbed the lead with 4:39 left in the contest thanks to a Kayla Smothers layup. BU would keep the lead for the rest of the contest. 

In the second half, the Green and Gold allowed just 29 percent (9-for-31) from the field, including 3-for-15 (20 percent) from downtown. On the opposite end, BU shot 51.4 percent (18-for-35) from the field in the final 20 minutes. 

Both Dingiswayo and Gray finished with 17 points each for the Green and Gold. In the second half, Dingiswayo totaled 12 points and Gray with 11. 

Candler Gregory also finished in double figures for the Green and Gold, scoring 13 points. 

Vamikka Smith had an all-around performance on Thursday night, finishing with eight points and 11 boards, while collecting five assists and blocks each. 

The Blazers will wrap up the 2016-17 regular season on Saturday, hosting Louisiana College for Senior Day. Tip off is slated for 1 p.m., with Senior Day festivities scheduled for in between the women's and men's game. 

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