JACKSON, Miss. – There were 17 lead changes and 13 tie scores Saturday afternoon as Maryville fell to Belhaven 68-62 in the Rugg Arena at Heidelberg Stadium.
 
The Scots were led by first-year guard Emily Allen who scored a season-high 25 points on 9-of-11 from the field, including 7-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc.
 
Allen's 25 points mark the highest single-game point total this season, and the most since her teammate Courtney Carruthers dropped 30, also against Belhaven in last year's CCS Quarterfinals.


 
Allen's seven threes are the most by a Scot since the 2019-2020 season, when Carruthers made eight triples twice, most recently on Feb. 12, 2020, against Covenant.
 
Behind Allen, Maryville's second-leading scorer on the night was Carruthers, who scored 15 points off the bench. Carruthers has now recorded double-digit points in four straight and five of her seven games played this season. The Maryville High School product also led the Scots with three steals.
 
MC's bench outscored Belhaven's 41-24 in the contest. Allen and Carruthers accounted for 40 of the Scots' 41 points.
 
Emma Huskey recorded a team-high six rebounds. Coming into today, she ranked fifth in the CCS in rebounding, grabbing eight boards per game.


 
The first quarter was a forecast for how the rest of the contest would play out, with six lead changes and four ties in the first ten minutes of play. After the Scots jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on a jumper by Ella Haney and a pair of made free throws from Sophie Tharpe, Belhaven fought back to tie the contest 6-6. Heading into the second quarter, the score was, fittingly, tied 18-18.
 
Maryville would take its biggest lead of the game with 2:00 remaining in the first half, as Allen hit back-to-back threes to take the game from 29-29 to 35-29. Belhaven closed the gap going into halftime though, scoring four points in the final two minutes to go into halftime trailing the Scots 35-33.
 
Belhaven quickly tied it up in the third quarter with a layup from leading scorer Ebony Gayden to make it 35-35. The trend from the first half continued, as the Scots and Blazers traded buckets back and forth for all ten minutes of the penultimate quarter.
 
Three lead changes and four tied scores later, MC held just a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter at 50-49.


 
There were three more lead changes and two more ties in the fourth quarter, but the Blazers outscored the Scots 19-12 in the final 10 minutes of play to secure the win and move to 2-1 in CCS competition.
 
Maryville's final lead of the contest was 56-55 with 6:37 remaining in the quarters. Belhaven outscored Maryville 13-6 through the end of the game and secured a 68-62 victory. The final score represented the Blazers' largest lead of the day.
 
The Scots are now 1-1 in conference play. They are back in action Tuesday night with a matchup against reigning CCS champion Berea in the Cooper Athletic Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.