JACKSON – The Belhaven Women's Basketball team dropped their season opener to Berea, 72-57, on Friday afternoon inside the Hangar Dome. 

It was tough sledding for the Blazers in the early going as the veteran Mountaineers scored the first 14 points of the contest. Chrystianna Beeman's three with 2:49 left in the opening quarter sparked a rally for Belhaven, but Berea took a 19-9 lead into the second quarter.

After the Mountaineers extended their advantage to 39-15 with just under three minutes to play, the Blazers closed the first half on an 11-1 run, capped off by a Teanna Watts layup at the horn to cut the deficit to 40-26 at the break.

Ebony Gayden opened the second half with a basket to cut the lead to 12, but the Mountaineers responded to push their lead out to 20 heading into the final quarter. The Blazers outscored Berea 20-15 in the final 10 minutes, but it was not enough as the final tally ended at 72-57.

Beeman led the Blazers offensively in her Belhaven debut, scoring 13 points on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Kiersten Hudson also finished in double figures in her first game with the Green and Gold, pouring in 12 points on 4-of-6 from three-point range.

The Blazers will look to bounce back on the final day of the Millsaps Fall Classic when they take on Ozarks at 2:00 PM Saturday.

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