Belmont Abbey shot 54 percent from the field as junior forward
Shayla Jackson led three Crusaders in double figures with 17 points
to lead the Abbey women's basketball team past Anderson 59-48. The
Abbey, winners of four-straight and six of its last seven improve
to 10-7 overall and 8-4 in Conference Carolinas, while Anderson,
which has lost three-straight, falls to 9-8 overall and 8-4 in
Conference Carolinas.
Jackson's 17 points led all players as she sank seven of ten
field goal attempts to go along with five rebounds, three steals
and two assists in 35 minutes. Senior guard Courtney Naquin and
sophomore forward Paula Regalado both finished with ten points.
Naquin posted a game-high five assists, and Regalado sanke five of
her seven field goal attempts. Kelsey Daniel led all players with
eight rebounds. Belmont Abbey shot 54 percent (25-46) from the
field and the defense forced 23 turnovers.
Anderson, which shot 32 percent (19-58) was led by Shanice
Wilson's 11 points, the only Lady Trojan to reach double figures.
Alexa Neal and Marci Siniard were next with eight points
apiece.
The Abbey never trailed as it opened the game with a 7-0 burst
fueled by a three-pointer by Naquin and layups from Jackson and
Asha Hardaway. Anderson trimmed the lead to two at 8-6, but the
Crusaders answered with a 14-4 jaunt over the next five-and-a-half
minutes to claim its biggest cushion of the half, 12 points at
22-10 with 6:52 remaining. An Anderson run trimmed the lead to six
at 28-22 with 1:49 left, but the Crusaders used layups by Regalado
and Jackson to push the lead back to eight with 37 seconds left. A
Neal layup at the buzzer trimmed the Abbey's advantage to 32-24 at
the half.
The final 20 minutes was controlled by the Crusaders, whose lead
never dipped below six points and led by as many as 12. Leading
52-41 with 5:11 left, Anderson scored five unanswered points on a
Siniard jumper and a three-pointer by Neal to cut the lead to six,
but the Abbey responded with a game-closing 7-2 run to win
59-48.
Belmont Abbey shot 50 percent in the second half and held
Anderson to a 31 percent effort. Anderson won the rebounding battle
by a narrow 31-30 edge.
