JACKSON, Miss. – Faulkner battled back from a 14-point. second half deficit to take a late lead, but a pair of costly turnovers in the closing minute allowed eighth-ranked Belhaven to escape with an 83-79 victory here Saturday night in a Southern States Athletic Conference game at Rugg Arena.

With the victory, the Blazers (22-6, 15-2 SSAC) captured the SSAC's West Division championship and the automatic berth in the NAIA national tournament that comes with it. Faulkner's loss leaves the Lady Eagles (18-9, 9-7 SSAC) a game ahead of William Carey in a battle for third place in the division.

With the score tied at 41 early in the second half, Belhaven raced away on a 15-1 run to build a 56-42 lead with 12:28 left. Faulkner, however, would not go away and steadily fought its way back in it. Christina Hayes, Leticia Cuellar and Spenser Cantrell all hit big 3-pointers to spark the comeback, and Brittney Carter's layup with 3:47 left gave the Lady Eagles a 71-70 lead, their first of the second half.

Loyola's Regena Jackson, who scored 25 of her game-high 30 points in the second half, rescued the Blazers from the free-throw line. The senior guard made 19 of 22 from the stripe, including nine in a row in the closing minutes. Faulkner trailed by a point when Cantrell beat the defense to the basket for a layup to give the Lady Eagles a 77-76 lead with 1:22 to play. Two Jackson free throws put the Blazers back on top, setting the stage for the game's two plays that ultimately decided the outcome.

Behind 78-77 with less than a minute to play, Faulkner's Nyla Johnson had an errant pass stolen, and the Blazers Kiara Johnson was fouled with 39 seconds left. The senior hit the first free throw but missed the second, and Carter grabbed the rebound for the Lady Eagles. Her long outlet pass, however, was intercepted, and when Jackson made a pair of free throws seconds later the Belhaven lead was four. Cuellar answered with a bucket, but Jackson added two more from the line to slam the door on the Lady Eagles' hopes.

"It was good to see our team keep our composure when we got down by 14 and to fight back," Faulkner head coach Reed Sutton said. "We made some tactical errors there in the last minute. To be honest, though, we're tired of losing these types of game. We have to be able to win a game like this against one of the top teams in our league to get to where we want to be as a program."

Hayes led the Lady Eagles, who lost by 17 points to the Blazers last month in Montgomery, with 20 points, while Carter added 17 points and 12 rebounds. Cuellar chipped in 13 for Faulkner. In support of Jackson's big second half, Belhaven's Sarah Carr made six 3-pointers en route to a 22-point night. Jessica Barlow was also in double figures with 10.

Faulkner's plan of keeping a fresh defender on Jackson paid dividends in the opening half, with the senior guard connecting on only one of eight shots in the first half. Behind Hayes and Carter, who combined for 21 points in the opening half, the Lady Eagles were able to build a 33-27 lead with 3:27 on the clock. Carr answered with a 3-pointer for Belhaven that sparked a 9-2 run, which culminated with Johnson's long 3 that handed the Blazers a 36-35 advantage at the break.

Faulkner travels south to battle SSAC West rival Mobile Thursday at 5:30 p.m.