Belmont Abbey sophomore guard Kelsey Long tied her season high with 19 points on eight of 11 shooting as the Crusaders women's basketball team earned its first Conference Carolinas win of the 2011-12 season with a 64-53 defeat of the visiting King College Tornado this evening at the Wheeler Center. The win moves the Abbey's ledger to 5-7 overall and 1-2 in Conference Carolinas, while King drops to 1-12 overall and 1-4 in league play.

Long led all scorers with 19 points on eight of 11 shooting, including three of five from three-point range. She also had four rebounds and a steal in 31 minutes. Paula Regalado added 12 points on five of ten shooting with four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Caitlyn Ranson chipped in with ten points on three of ten shooting. All three of her field goals were from three-point range. She added two assists and three steals. Belmont Abbey shot 47.1 percent (24-51) from the floor, including a blistering 55.6 (15-27) percent output in the first half. 15 of the Abbey's 24 field goals were assisted, as Melisa Foures, Regalado and Candace Fox all led the way with three each.

King, which shot 48.7 (19-39) percent from the floor, received a team-high 12 points from Brittany Kinser on four of six shooting, all from three-point range. Kelly Jackson added 11 points on five of six shooting with four rebounds.

The Crusaders never trailed and led by 15 at the break after closing the stanza on a 9-4 run to claim a 40-25 halftime lead.

King opened the second half by closing the Crusader lead to six, but he Abbey pulled away with a 14-2 jaunt to extend the lead back to 18. The cushion never dropped below 11 from there as the Abbey earned the win.