LAS VEGAS – Angelo State's Jasmine Prophet blocked a shot with two seconds left to preserve the No. 4/7 Belles 69-68 victory over Western Washington on Saturday at the Holiday Hoops Tournament held at the South Point Hotel and Resort.
 
The Belles (8-0, 2-0 LSC) trailed for the first time going into the fourth quarter down 53-49 and trailed 68-67 with 45 seconds to play. Western Washington (6-3) was playing tight defense but Keanna Kelly was found behind the 3-point arc and put up a shot with the shot clock winding down. The junior was fouled and hit two of three free throws to put the Belles on top 69-68 which lead to the final defensive stand.
 
"We knew all week this was going to be a tough game against a really good Western Washington team," Angelo State head women's basketball coach Kevin Baker said. "I thought this game would go down to the wire and even being down five at halftime I felt this was going to be a game of possessions and rebounds. Jasmine made a great play at the end to not only get the block but control possession for the rebound. I was proud of the way we battled to get a win over a great team." 
 
Angelo State outscored Western Washington 34-20 in the paint and scored 22 points off 23 WWU turnovers. Western Washington won the rebounding battle 46-41 and outshot ASU 44.3 to 36.5.
Bria Frierson led ASU with her first career double-double as a Belle. The junior scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds including eight on the offensive end. Taylor Dorsey chipped in13 points with six rebounds and Jasmine Prophet added 10 points and six rebounds.
 
The Belles trailed by as much as five points in the fourth quarter but held Western Washington scoreless over the last 1:51 of the game. Prophet started the comeback with a contested layup in the paint off an assist from Dorsey. Dorsey got to the foul line after a Western Washington missed show and made in a one point game with 1:18 to play. Another missed Viking shot setup Kelly's free throws. The fourth quarter had five ties and seven lead changes.
 
Down 40-35 at halftime, ASU found itself down seven after Western Washington scored the first bucket of the second half. Lexi Murphy responded with one of her two 3-pointers on the night and a Frierson steal turned into a fast break layup to put the Belles down 42-40. Christina Robinson gave ASU a lead at 46-44 after blowing by her defender for a layup. Western Washington responded with a 9-3 run to take a 53-49 advantage into the fourth quarter.
 
After an even first quarter, ASU was outscored 21-16 in the second quarter. Western Washington shot 41.2-percent from the field while holding the Belles to 30.4-percent. It is just the second time this season ASU has trailed going into halftime. The first was the season opener against UTSA.
 
The Vikings opened the second quarter on an 11-5 run over the first three minutes of the quarter to go up 30-24. The Belles answered with a 6-2 run of their own as Dorsey would hit back-to-back layups. Two possessions later, Keanna Kelly sank a 3-pointer to make it 34-33 but Western Washington scored six of the final eight points in the quarter for a 40-35 halftime advantage.
 
The Belles started the game on an 8-2 run scoring six of the eight points in the pain. The Vikings got back into the game with an 8-2 run of their own to tie the game at 10 with 5:02 left in the first quarter. Angelo State would have leads of three and four over the final five minutes but Western Washington was able to tie the game in the final 15 seconds.
Western Washington was led in scoring by Gandy's 26 points. Tia Briggs scored 18 points and 13 rebounds while the Vikings leading scorer Taylor Peacock, who is No. 2 nationally in scoring, was held to eight points.  
 
The Belles will play Northern Nazarene in their final game of the Holiday Hoops Tournament on Monday at 3:30 p.m. PST/5:30 p.m. CST. The venue has changed from South Point Resort to the Doolittle Community Center.