SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Peyton Nation finished one point shy of her career-high and Riley James had a game-best eight assists as No. 3 seed Belmont Abbey defeated No. 6 Young Harris 60-48 Friday night at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
 
Friday's contest marked the final game of the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Casualty Insurance Conference Carolinas Tournament.
 
Nation scored finished with 19 points on the night to go with seven rebounds while James had 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
 
Abigail Crain added 17 points to finish in double figures scoring for the 26th time this season. She had 10 points in the first half to help spur the Crusaders to a halftime lead.
 
Belmont Abbey improves to 22-7 on the season. Young Harris concludes its season at 16-14.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams exchanged baskets early on but Belmont Abbey closed the first quarter on an 8-0 run.
• The Crusaders' run ended up with a 12-0 run entering the second quarter.
• Crain, Nation and Janiah Shular accounted for all 27 points of the first half for The Abbey.
• All of James' 11 points came in the second half.
• The Crusaders led by three points, 37-34, entering the fourth quarter.
• Nation scored the first six points of the fourth quarter.
• Belmont Abbey out-rebounded Young Harris 34-32 in the contest.
• Young Harris got within nine points late in the fourth quarter but a Schieber 3-pointer with 3:20 left helped the Crusaders extend the lead to 12 and help put the game away.
• Cate Schieber led the way for the Crusaders with a team-best eight rebounds.
• Belmont Abbey finished with just nine turnovers on the night. It is the fourth time this year that the team has finished in single digits in that category.

ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION

• Prior to Friday's game, Crain, Schieber and Janiah Shular all received their All-Conference awards.
• The team also received its trophy for winning a share of the Northwest Division title.

UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey advances to play No. 2 seed Francis Marion at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals.
• This will be the second meeting in 10 days between the two teams. Francis Marion defeated the Abbey 62-52 in the regular season finale.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE