LAGRANGE, Ga. - The Belhaven Women's Basketball team punched its ticket to the Collegiate Conference of the South Championship game with an 88-79 win over Asbury in the CCS Semifinals on Friday evening at LaGrange College.

With the victory, the Blazers improve to 19-6 overall and advance to Saturday's championship matchup against No. 1 seed LaGrange.

Belhaven never trailed in the contest, using strong scoring runs in each of the first three quarters to build a double-digit cushion that held up down the stretch.

First Quarter
After surrendering the opening three-pointer, Belhaven answered quickly as Ny Jones buried a three to tie the game at 3-3 just 44 seconds in. From there, the Blazers established control in the paint.

A layup by Kyla Farmer and back-to-back finishes inside from Katelyn Coleman sparked a 10-2 run that turned a 7-5 deficit into a 15-10 advantage midway through the quarter. Coleman scored nine points in the opening period, repeatedly attacking the rim and converting at the free-throw line.

Later in the quarter, Jasi Jenkins added consecutive buckets in the paint, and Veronica Williams finished a fastbreak layup in the final minute after a steal by Coleman to cap a 6-0 surge. Belhaven closed the period on a 12-4 run to take a 25-19 lead.

Second Quarter
Belhaven's offense stayed aggressive in the second. Kamren Edwards opened the period with a jumper in the lane, and Williams followed with a three-pointer that pushed the lead to 30-20.

Moments later, Allison Liddell knocked down a three off an assist from Kiersten Hudson, stretching the margin to 11. Williams connected again from deep at the 7:32 mark to make it 36-23 and force another defensive adjustment.

Midway through the quarter, Farmer scored inside to cap a 9-1 stretch that gave the Blazers their largest lead of the half at 38-23.

Asbury responded behind Emily Sizemore and Anna Hellums, trimming the margin to single digits in the closing minutes. Still, Coleman converted in the lane and Tra'Shaylah Wilson added two free throws to help Belhaven maintain control. The Blazers took a 47-40 lead into halftime after shooting 50 percent in the quarter.

Third Quarter
The third quarter proved decisive.

After the visitors cut the deficit to five in the opening minute, Belhaven answered with one of its strongest stretches of the night. Ny Jones scored in the paint, Williams converted a fastbreak layup off a steal, and another Williams finish inside pushed the lead back to double figures.

Farmer added an and-one in the lane, and Jenkins followed with a putback layup to extend the run to 11-2.

With 5:36 left in the quarter, Jenkins scored again inside to give Belhaven a 60-44 advantage, capping a 19-5 surge. Coleman and Williams continued to trade baskets with Sizemore, who scored 12 points in the third for Asbury, but the Blazers never allowed the margin to dip below eight.

Williams knocked down a three-pointer in the final minute, and Farmer finished inside in the closing seconds to send Belhaven to the fourth quarter with a 72-62 lead.

Fourth Quarter
Asbury made one final push in the fourth, trimming the deficit to four at 75-71 with just over five minutes to play behind baskets from Ma'Kiya West and Sizemore.

Belhaven responded with poise.

Coleman scored inside off an assist from Hudson, then calmly converted two free throws to stretch the lead back to nine. Williams added a clutch three-pointer from the wing at the 5:19 mark to make it 79-71.

Down the stretch, the Blazers leaned on their defense and free-throw shooting. Coleman went 4-for-6 at the line in the final three minutes, while Williams added two more free throws and Ny Jones finished a layup in the closing seconds to put the game away.

Belhaven scored 20 points off 25 turnovers and held a 44-34 edge in points in the paint.

With the win, the Blazers advance to the CCS Championship game on Saturday at 2:00 PM at LaGrange, where they will look to claim the conference tournament title and secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

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