LONGVIEW, Texas- The Belhaven University women's basketball team fell 62-55 on the road on Saturday afternoon at LeTourneau in American Southwest Conference play. The Blazers trailed by 15 points early on in the second half, and stormed all the way back to tie the game before eventually falling in the final minutes.
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INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: LeTourneau 62 , Belhaven 55
Records: 5-18 (2-14, ASC), 3-20 (3-13, ASC)
Location: Longview, Texas |
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HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was a slow start for the Blazers on both ends of the floor as they made just two field goals in the first seven minutes.
- Turnovers plagued the Belhaven offense throughout the first half, as they had committed eight in 10 minutes of play.
- Letourneau was flawless from the free throw line and also controlled the offensive glass in the first half. Belhaven found themselves trailing 21-13 midway through the second quarter.
- BU found some rhythm offensively late in the quarter inside the paint and cut the lead down to two possessions.
- AaLiyaha Thornton tabbed the last four points for the Blazers in the last minute of the quarter to close the gap down to 28-25 at the break.
- The Yellowjackets opened up the second half with an 18-6 run to open up the lead at 46-31.
- Belhaven regrouped and posted a strong finish to the quarter with a 7-0 run as they trimmed the deficit down to single digits at 46-38 heading into the fourth.
- Back-to-back baskets from Alexis Caldwell and Thornton had the lead sliced to one possession at 50-47 with under seven minutes to play.
- After a turnover and steal, Kelsey Brown knotted the game up with a layup to even the score at 52-52 with 4:52 remaining.
- However, things would take a turn for the worst down the stretch as LeTourneau out-scored the Blazers 10-3 to win 62-55.
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KEY STATISTICS
- AaLiyaha Thornton continued her impressive play offensively as she led the Blazers with 18 points. Thornton was perfect from the charity stripe on 7-7 attempts.
- Alexis Caldwell nearly tabbed a double-double finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds.
- Kayla Smothers finished with eight points and seven rebounds, while both India Sims and Kelsey Brown added seven points each.
- Belhaven shot 38 percent from the field and 72 percent from the foul line.
- The Blazers were out-rebounded 50-35 and turned the ball over 16 times throughout the afternoon.
- LeTourneau scored 18 points off of turnovers.
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UP NEXT
Belhaven will return to the hardwood on Thursday at Rugg Arena as they play host to UT Tyler. Tip-off is currently set for 5:30 p.m.
For the latest news on Belhaven Blazers athletics, follow @BelhavenBlazers on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
