The Belmont Abbey women's basketball team suffered a 60-56 defeat at the hands of the visiting Limestone Saints on Friday night. After trailing by as many as nine in the second half the Crusaders were able to take a 47-44 lead with 6:10 remaining in the contest. The lead would not last however as Limestone closed out the game on a 16-9 run to take the 60-56 victory. The loss drops the Abbey to 12-16 overall and 8-11 in Conference Carolinas. Limestone improves to 23-6 overall and 17-2 in Conference Carolinas with the win. The Abbey will open the Conference Carolinas Tournament Monday night at Barton.

The Crusaders jumped out quickly to a 5-0 advantage as Kelsey Long converted a pair of free throws and a three pointer with 17:18 remaining in the first half.
Limestone responded with an 8-0 run to take a 13-5 lead at the 13:16 mark. The Abbey cut the deficit to three at the 9:11 mark with an 8-0 run of its own to make the score 16-13. Limestone pushed its advantage to 21-15 on a three pointer by Maria Young with 6:25 to play in the first half. The Crusaders outscored the Saints 9-3 to regain a 24-23 advantage at the 2:36 mark. A 4-2 Limestone spurt gave them a 27-26 lead at the half.

Six quick points by Limestone to start the second half gave it a 33-26 advantage with 16:15 to play. The Abbey cut the deficit to back to one with a 6-0 run to make the score 33-32 at the 14:54 mark. The Saints appeared to seize control as Kaileigh West's layup and free throw gave them a 41-32 lead with 13:33 to play. The Crusaders were able to respond with a 13-3 surge that gave them their first lead of the second half at 45-44 with 8:32 remaining. The pushed the lead to three with two Long free throws at the 6:10 mark for a 47-44 advantage. Limestone answered by outscoring the Crusaders 15-6 to take a six-point lead at 59-53 with 1:02 remaining. Long's three pointer cut the Abbey deficit to 59-56 with 10 seconds to play, but a pair of Stephanie Hayes free throws sealed the 60-56 victory for Limestone.

Long led all scorers with a career-high 28 points on six of 15 shooting. McKenzie Owen chipped in with 10 points and three rebounds. Paula Regalado led the Abbey with 11 rebounds and scored five points.

Young led Limestone with 20 points and three steals. West recorded a double double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.