BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Belhaven Women's Basketball Team finished their season-opening road trip facing off against the host of the Dardenne Memorial Classic, Birmingham-Southern College. The Blazers came away with a 112-100 victory over the Panthers earning their first win of the 2020-21 season.

The Blazers and Panthers went back and forth in the first quarter; however, the Blazers held a 17-12 lead with 4:47 remaining in the quarter. The Panthers outscored the Blazers 17-13 with the remaining time in the quarter including holding a four point lead with 1:20 to go, but the Blazers scored five straight points to close out the quarter and gain a 30-29 lead at the end of the quarter. The second quarter saw the Blazers struggle and being outscored 24-19 by the Panthers. This quarter was the only one where the Blazers did not score at least 30 points and led to the Panthers holding a 53-49 lead at halftime.

The third quarter started with the Panthers extending their lead to six points; however, the Blazers battled back whittling away the lead and eventually taking a 66-64 lead after a successful free throw by freshman guard Lilli Maggio with 4:44 remaining in the quarter. The Blazers finished out the quarter with a 14-11 scoring run to take an 80-75 lead into the fourth quarter. The Blazers finished the game outscoring the Panthers 32-25 to secure the 112-100 victory.

The Blazers had seven players reach double figures in scoring tonight as senior guard Shanda Pugh led the way with 18 points, and the aforementioned Lilli Maggio tacked on 15. Both centers for the Blazers had double-doubles in the game as senior Destiny Johnson had 14 points and 14 rebounds, including nine offensive rebounds, while junior Ladedra Bryant had 13 points and 14 rebounds, including nine defensive rebounds. Freshman guards Ashanti Lipscomb and Kourtne Lee had 14 points each, while senior guard Mariah Collins added 13 points.

The Blazers effort during the game landed them in the record books for five different individual game categories. 112 points is the second-most in school history, the Blazers made 44 field goals while attempting 99 with both marks also being the second-most in school history. The team grabbed 72 rebounds which is the third-most in school history and tallied 27 assists which is the fifth-most in school history. This game also tied an American Southwest Conference record for combined points by both teams with 212, a mark that was set in a game between East Texas Baptist University and University of the Ozarks on January, 30, 1999.

The Blazers improve to 1-2 overall and will be back in action for their home opener on Tuesday, December 15. The Blazers will face off against the Birmingham-Southern College Panthers with the action set to tip-off at 3 p.m., at Rugg Arena.

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