WINGATE, N.C. – The Belmont Abbey women's basketball team moved up three spots to No. 5 in the latest D2SIDA Southeast Regional rankings that were released Monday. 
 
The Crusaders moved to 7-3 overall with a 62-59 over Wingate on Dec. 30 to extend the team's winning streak to five games. Belmont Abbey's win was over a regionally-ranked opponent in the Bulldogs, who entered the contest ranked fourth.
 
Belmont Abbey has played well thanks in large part to its defense, holding opponents to 53.7 points per game. That ranking is eighth overall in all of Division II.
 
 
Belmont Abbey will face its second straight regionally-ranked opponent in No. 9 Carson-Newman at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Wheeler Center.
 
The Women's Basketball Division II Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA, is in its ninth season of existence. During the season, the regional polls are released every Monday, followed by the national poll every Tuesday. Each region has six representatives who vote in the regional poll. The national poll has 16 voters -- two from each of Division II's eight regions.