MARSHALL, Texas - The Belhaven University women's basketball fell short to East Texas Baptist University by a final score of 72-68 in American Southwest Conference play. The Blazers already secured their spot in the ASC Tournament beginning on February 27 in Richardson, Texas on the campus of UT-Dallas.

The Blazers and Tigers started slow from the floor to open the game, but ETBU held a slight 9-8 lead over Belhaven five minutes through the first quarter. The Green and Gold kept pace with the Tigers, but the Tigers took the 16-15 advantage to close out the first quarter. The Blazers did not shoot well from the field in the second quarter as the Tigers out shot the Blazers 23-11 to make the score 39-26 to give ETBU the lead going into the halftime break.

The Tigers extended their lead to 45-31 with 6:23 remaining in the third quarter, but the Blazers fought back to narrow the lead to 54-47 at the end of the third quarter. Both teams exchanged buckets to open the fourth quarter, but the Tigers had the 64-54 advantage with 6:32 remaining in regulation. The Blazers continued to make shots and would eventually cut the lead to four points with 30 seconds remaining in the game. However, the Blazers could not complete the late rally, as the Green and Gold fell by a final score of 72-68. With the loss, Belhaven falls to 14-10 overall and 7-8 in conference play. 

Four Blazers scored double-digit points in the contest. Keke Lyles led the way with 16 points and shot 42.9 percent from the field. Peyton Papenburg recorded a double-double scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds in the game, while Mariah Collins posted 14 points, eight steals, five boards, and went 2-for-5 from behind the arc.Sydney Martin was one rebound shy of a double-double, but ended up with 10 points and nine rebounds.Additionally, she led the team shooting 71.4 percent from the floor. Janae Collier had six points, Destiny Johnson tallied three points and Essence Lambert and Ashlyn Horne rounded out the scoring for the Blazers with two points apiece.

Belhaven will return to the court on Saturday, February 22 afainst the LeTourneau University Yellowjackets in Longview, Texas. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.

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