The Belmont Abbey women's basketball team fell to the Conference Carolinas leading Barton Bulldogs 84-69 this evening at the Wheeler Center. The Conference Carolinas regular-season champs extended their school-record win streak to 17 games and now stand 21-5 overall and 20-1 in league play heading into Saturday night's home clash with Coker.

Belmont Abbey, which entered the game in a three-way tie for second place, slipped into a tie for third with Mount Olive at 14-7 in league play and 16-10 overall. Anderson is second with a 15-6 league mark. Only Saturday's games remain in regular-season play for all teams.

The Lady Bulldogs, who only trailed at 2-0, took charge in the early minutes before the Crusaders closed within 12-10 at the 13:20 mark of the first half. That's when Barton went on a 12-0 run and never looked back. The Lady Bulldogs led 42-29 at intermission after draining 5-of-7 from three-point land and shooting 53.1 percent before intermission, compared to 34.4 percent for the Abbey.

Four players, led by Esty Flores (20 points), scored in double figures for the Lady Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 8 in the Southeast Region. Flores hit 9-of-15 shots, including 2-of-3 from downtown. Jamila Johnson added 15 points three assists and two steals; Jannetta Robinson dropped in 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting; and Janae Jackson added 12 points on 5-of-7 accuracy.

Barton finished 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the field, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. Belmont Abbey was 26-of-60 (43.3 percent) and 3-of-9 from 3-point range. Both teams snared 34 rebounds.

The Crusaders got 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting from Shayla Jackson. Courtney Naquin scored 15, Paula Regalado 12 and Amanda McDonald 10. Regalado hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds.