ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University's women's basketball team will be paying tribute to its lone senior – Celeste Belizario – on Saturday, as the team closes out the 2011-12 regular season versus Sul Ross State on Saturday afternoon at Kimbrell Arena. Start time is 1 p.m.

The War Hawks (17-7, 15-5 ASC) are fresh off of Thursday's 60-42 win over then American Southwest Conference West Division co-leader Howard Payne University. It was the team's second win in a row. McM is third in the ASC West and could tie Howard Payne for second place still with a win over the Lobos and an HPU loss. McMurry has had a spot secured in the ASC tourney since the last week of January.

McMurry's Keshia Collins tops the team at 14.4 points and 6.9 boards per game, while also leading the War Hawks in assists, steals and blocks. Collins had her fifth double-double of the season in the win over HPU.

Junior Rikeita Thomas is at 9.9 p.p.g. entering the final day of the regular season.

Belizario joined the War Hawks in 2010-11, after spending two years at Eastern New Mexico University.

As a junior for head coach Veronica Snow's team last season, Belizario was a role player who averaged 8.7 minutes per game an appeared in 23 of 26 contests for the War Hawks.

But Belizario's work ethic is what caught Snow's eye. That led McM's head coach to correctly predict in her pre-season synopsis that, in 2011-12, Belizario would “realize her best season of her career.”

Snow's prognostication is backed up by the fact that Belizario has started all 24 games for McMurry this season, which clinched an ASC post-season berth nearly two weeks ago. Her balanced game has produced averages of 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals and nearly 1.0 blocks per game, all while shooting 45 percent from the field.

Belizario prepped at Tascosa High School in Amarillo. She is majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies at McMurry.