BELMONT, N.C. — The Belmont Abbey women's basketball team got its Conference Carolinas slate off to a good start thanks to a 66-60 win over King Tuesday evening at the Wheeler Center.

Three Crusaders reached double figures scoring on the night. Leigha Dennison finished with 12 points to go with seven rebounds and two steals. Riley James added 11 points while Janiah Shular had 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Abbey won its conference opener for the fifth straight year and has won eight straight contests against the Tornado.

Belmont Abbey improves to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play. King is 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the league.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Belmont Abbey had to overcome an early deficit as King jumped out to a 13-4 lead.
• The Crusaders closed the opening quarter on a 7-2 run.
• Madison Lusk and Valeria Batista accounted for the first five points of the second quarter to take its first lead.
• Belmont Abbey trailed 29-27 at the half.
• The Crusaders started the second half with a 7-1 run and had its largest lead of seven points in the third quarter.
• Reagan Iovino made a pair of threes off the bench late in the third quarter to push the Abbey lead.
• Belmont Abbey led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter.
• Valeria Batista finished with seven points and four blocked shots off the bench.
• The Tornado got within three with just over a minute remaining but James hit three free throws down the stretch to help secure the win.
• Belmont Abbey finished with 40 rebounds and had six different players record a steal.
• Bella Martin led the Crusaders with four assists.

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders head on the road to face USC Aiken on Saturday.
• The contest is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start from the Aiken Convocation Center.
• Belmont Abbey plays its next three games on the road.