JACKSON – Freshman
Shante' Morton recorded her fifth double-double in nine games with a team high 25 points in a New Year's Eve contest with rival Belhaven University that saw Millsaps drop its 11th straight contest of the season, falling 74-55 at The Hangar Dome Thursday night.
Playing on a freshly resurfaced court, the Majors looked for their first win of the season but were hampered by 23 first half turnovers – 35 in total – as visiting Belhaven took advantage scoring 44 total points off turnovers.
Millsaps (0-11) got on the scoreboard first with a nice off-the-glass finish by freshman
Jasmine Harbor but the Blazers responded with a free throw and a 3-pointer by Sarah Carr for the early 4-2 lead.
Morton led the Majors on a 7-0 scoring run with several offensive rebounds and senior
Cori Tucker capped the run with a 3-point basket for a 9-4 advantage.
After multiple turnovers, Belhaven took a 23-13 lead at the mid-point of the first half.
Morton reached double figures in the half when she made a pair of free throws and finished the half with 13 points.
Quick baskets from Belhaven increased its lead to 35-19 for its largest lead of the half, as the Blazers closed out the opening stanza with a 37-27 advantage.
A Millsaps turnover on the initial inbounds pass led to a pair of Belhaven free throws by Courtney Ward, sparking an 8-1 run to open the second half.
The Majors changed their game plan and forced the ball in the post to Morton who was able to score some tough baskets in the paint and get Millsaps back into the contest.
Belhaven (9-2) countered by challenging the Majors in the backcourt, forcing more turnovers and converting them to easy fast break points to open its widest lead of the game at 63-42 halfway through the final 20 minutes.
Millsaps cut the lead back to 12 with 3-pointers from Morton and senior
Megan Bauerle and a jumper by freshman
Sarah Spann but were unable to get any closer as the Blazers cruised to the 74-55 non-conference victory.
The Majors look forward to the new year as they seek their first win of the season on Saturday, Jan. 2 against Mississippi College. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. in the Hangar Dome, with the Cabot Lodge-Millsaps Holiday men's basketball tournament to follow.
Make sure to check all the action on the live streaming broadcast at www.gomajors.com.