JACKSON, Miss. - Trailing by eight points at halftime following a cold first half, the #2 East Texas Baptist University women's basketball team flipped the script against Belhaven University in the second half coming away with their 22^nd straight victory, 79-65. ETBU will enter their final regular season game at 22-0 overall and 14-0 in the American Southwest Conference.

Hanna Hudson led a trio of Tiger players in double-figures as she scored 14 points. Bridget Upton tallied 13 points while Grace Stephens finished with 10 points. Taylor Singleton grabbed 10 rebounds with nine points while Kaia Williams dished out three assists.

The Blazers would get the first run of the game pushing the lead to 12-4 early on. Kenidi White and Grace Stephens would start an 8-2 run to pull within two, 14-12 (4:07). BU extended the margin to 18-13 before Singleton (2:05) and Mollie Dittmar (1:15) recorded six straight points for a 19-18 lead. The first quarter ended with BU scoring five straight points for a four-point lead, 23-19.

The run would reach nine points to start the second quarter as ETBU saw themselves down 27-19 (7:32). Upton sparked a 7-2 run (7:14-5:28), which cut the margin to 29-26. However, the Tigers would only have a three-for-16 quarter shooting as the Blazers would have a 42.5% first half shooting performance. The BU lead would grow to 11 points, 39-28, in the quarter. Mallory Stephens would hit three free throws while Hudson converted a three to end the first half trailing BU, 42-34.

As the second half began, so would ETBU's surge as they scored 27 points in the third quarter. They opened with a 15-3 run (9:44-5:37) to grab a 49-45 lead as Hudson scored a third of those points. BU knotted the score at 49 before ETBU would extend the lead to five, 56-51, with Hudson's eighth point of the quarter on a three (3:09). The Blazers pulled to within on, 56-55, but watched as Grace Stephens (1:49) and Mycah McDonald combined for the final five points putting ETBU up 61-55 after three.

BU cut the margin to 61-57 early in the fourth before Upton responded with four straight points (8:38-8:14). A three by BU made it 65-60 with seven minutes left. Yet, the Tigers pulled away with baskets from Williams (6:51), Upton (6:02), and Hudson (5:34), which pushed the score to 72-60. Despite the Blazers cutting the lead back to single digits, the Tigers would ultimately finish them off down the stretch to preserve their winning streak at 22 games, 79-65.

ETBU will seek to finish their regular season on the right note this Saturday when they travel to Pineville, La., to take on Louisiana College at 1:00 PM.