The Belmont Abbey women's basketball team fell at 13th-ranked Wingate by a 70-58 count this afternoon in the final game of the 2008 Queen City Classic, held at Cuddy Arena. Wingate improves to 2-0, while the Abbey is now 1-1.

Junior guard Ashley Giddens (Reading, Pa.) led the Belmont Abbey attack with 14 points and four steals. Junior guard Asha Hardaway (Greensboro, N.C.) added nine points, four rebounds and three assists for the Crusaders.

The Bulldogs came out of the gate hot, taking a 14-1 lead less than five minutes into the game. C.C. Brooks had four points in the opening Spurt while Anna Atkinson handed out three assists. A three pointer from senior guard Paige Mincey (Savannah, Ga.) gave the Bulldogs a 17-2 lead.

A jumper and a free throw from freshman forward Paula Regalado (Roanoke, Texas), cut the lead to 29-18 at the 4:06 mark. A three-point play from Washington stretched the lead back to 15 less than a minute later. Belmont Abbey again got within 11 on a pair of free throws from sophomore forward Emma Camp (Essex, England), but Wingate responded with a 5-0 run to take a 16 point lead, capped off with a layup from Washington. A pair of Atkinson free throws made it 43-24 with 35 seconds remaining in the half; a layup from junior guard Courtney Naquin (Virginia Beach, Va.) cut the lead to 17 at halftime.

A jumper from sophomore guard Amanda McDonald (Albany, Ga.) made it 52-39 at the 15:20 mark. Wingate then went on an 8-3 run to take a 60-42 lead, capped off with a jumper from sophomore forward Jessy Keitt (Charlotte, N.C.).

The Wingate lead would stay above 15 until Giddens converted a three-point play with 2:36 remaining in the game. A jumper from freshman guard Kala Nwachukwu (Upper Marlboro, Md.) got the lead down to 10 with 2:12 remaining. Sophomore guard Emily Parrish (Brevard, N.C.) drilled a three pointer from the left corner with 28 seconds remaining to give Wingate a 70-58 advantage.

The Bulldogs shot 39.7 percent from the floor, going 23-58 from the field while hitting three-of-14 from beyond the arc. Wingate converted on 21-of-30 free throw attempts while holding a 37-35 edge in rebounding. The Crusaders shot 36.5 percent from the field, hitting 19-of-52 shots including two-of-12 shooting from three point range. Belmont Abbey was 18-of-24 from the free throw line.