Belmont Abbey freshman guard Morgan Midkiff led all players with 20 points, but Queens had four players reach double figures as the Royals women's basketball team pulled away early in the second half to claim an 86-55 win this evening at the Grady Cole Center. The Royals improve to 12-9 overall and 10-7 in Conference Carolinas, while the Abbey drops to 10-11 overall and 9-8 in Conference Carolinas.

Queens shot 36.7 percent from the field and the Abbey was not far behind at 35.3, but the Crusaders were undone by 29 turnovers that led to 30 Royals points. Midkiff led all scorers with 20 points on six of 25 shooting from the field, including three of 11 from beyond the arc. She also made five of six from the line. She was the only Crusader to reach double figures. She also had eight rebounds and two assists. Caitlyn Ranson led the Abbey with nine rebounds to go along with five points, and Melisa Foures hauled in eight boards.

The Royals had two players post double doubles as Sarah Myatt scored 16 points and grabbed ten rebounds, while Shonice Pettaway netted 13 points and grabbed 11 boards. Melissa Thomas added 16 points and Shanel Sweet scored 15.

Belmont Abbey's largest lead was five points as it scored the first five points of the contest, but Queens scored the next six points to take its first lead. Belmont Abbey countered with an 8-2 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Candace Fox, to move its lead back to five at 13-8 with 11:34 to play.

Queens fought back with a 10-3 run to claim a lead it would never lose. The last Abbey lead came on that 10-3 run as Midkiff swished a three-pointer at the 10:06 mark, but the Crusaders would never lead again.

After Kelsey Long cut the Queens lead to eight with her only two points of the game at the 3:07 mark, Queens closed the half on a 15-2 run to carry a 42-22 lead into the break.

The second half was all Queens, as the Royals lead ascended to as high as 36 points at 83-47 with 3:17 to play. The Royals shot 37 percent in the half to just 33 for the Crusaders, as the lead never dipped below 31 points, which was the final.