DUE WEST, S.C. – Belmont Abbey head women's basketball coach Kim Lusk earned her 300th win of her coaching career thanks to a 59-39 victory at Erskine Wednesday evening at the Galloway Center.
 
The Crusaders led 24-20 at halftime before pulling away in the second half en route to its 15th straight victory.   
 
Lusk has won 17 games in her first season leading the Crusaders program after accounting for 67 wins at NJIT and 216 at St. Thomas Aquinas, respectively.
 
The Crusaders moved to 17-3 overall, 14-0 in Conference Carolinas. The Flying Fleet are 5-13 overall, 3-11 in the league.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Abigail Crain led the Crusaders with a game-high 19 points while Taylor Stelley added 17 points. Stelley also made five three-pointers to give The Abbey an offensive spark.
• Both teams were locked in a defensive battle early before the Crusaders scored seven of the final 10 points of the quarter.
• Belmont Abbey's largest lead was 11 points in the second quarter.
• The Crusaders held the Flying Fleet to just six points in the third quarter to help pull away.
• The Abbey outrebounded Erskine 40-29, including a 17-10 advantage on the offensive glass.
• Peyton Nation finished with a game-high eight rebounds.
• Belmont Abbey had 13 assists led by six from Crain and three from Cate Schieber, who was making her first career start. Stelley and Riley James had two each.
• Schieber also had a strong game on the defensive end with five steals. 
• The Crusaders closed the game on a 10-3 run.  
• It is the fourth time this season that Belmont Abbey has held its opponent under 40 points.

 
UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey returns home to face Francis Marion in a pivotal Conference Carolinas matchup at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Wheeler Center.
• The two teams enter the matchup with the longest winning streaks in the conference at 15 and 12 games, respectively.
• The Crusaders defeated the Patriots 71-64 in the first meeting December 3, 2022, in Florence, South Carolina.