BELMONT, N.C. – The Belmont Abbey women's basketball team and returned home to host Converse in a Conference Carolinas contest Wednesday evening at the Wheeler Center.
 
Janiah Shular finished with a career-high 15 points and Abigail Crain finished in double figures scoring for the Crusaders but it was the Valkyries who came away with a 62-54 victory.
 
Additionally, Shular had five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
 
Sydney Wilson led the Valkyries with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds.
 
Belmont Abbey is now 5-5 overall, 1-1 in conference play while Converse is 4-5 overall and 2-1 in league play.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Katherine Bischoping gave the Crusaders an early 2-0 lead with the opening basket of the game less than 30 seconds in.
• Both teams battled back and forth early before the Valkyries closed the quarter on a 10-2 run.
• The Crusaders started the second quarter on a 7-0 run with Shular contributing six points.
• After trailing by as many as 11 points in the quarter, The Abbey entered the fourth quarter down by 4.
• A Cate Schieber 3-pointer with 5:45 left got the Crusaders within two but the Valkyries outscored Belmont Abbey 12-6 over the final 4:40 in the contest.
• The Crusaders finished with 14 assists and eight steals.

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders close out 2023 with a pair of games against South Atlantic Conference opponents starting Tuesday at 2 p.m. against Lenoir-Rhyne.
• It is the first matchup since 2019 between the Crusaders and Bears.
• Five of the next six contests for the Crusaders will be at home.