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Belmont Abbey College

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Riley James
82
Winner Belmont Abbey BAC 23-5,17-3 Conference Carolinas
52
Lees-McRae LMC 7-17,5-15 Conference Carolinas
Winner
Belmont Abbey BAC
23-5,17-3 Conference Carolinas
82
Final
52
Lees-McRae LMC
7-17,5-15 Conference Carolinas
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Belmont Abbey BAC 14 17 31 20 82
Lees-McRae LMC 6 18 13 15 52

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Crusaders Close Regular Season with Win at Lees-McRae, Clinch No. 2 Seed

BANNER ELK, N.C. — Peyton Nation and Riley James each had double-doubles as part of five players in double figures scoring as the Belmont Abbey women's basketball team closed the regular season with an 82-52 win over Lees-McRae Wednesday evening at Williams Gymnasium.

The Crusaders got off to a strong start with a 14-0 run to begin the game and a 14-2 burst to begin the second half to help secure the win.

Nation finished with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds while James had her second double-double of the season with 10 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.

Janiah Shular had 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench while Cate Schieber and Leigha Dennison added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Additionally, Schieber led the team with five steals and had two blocked shots.

Belmont Abbey closes the regular season with a 23-5 overall record and a 17-3 mark in Conference Carolinas play. Lees-McRae is 7-17 overall, 5-15 in the league.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The Crusaders got going early in the game with a 14-0 run and held Lees-McRae without a point for the first 7:40 of the game.
  • Belmont Abbey used a 7-2 run in the second quarter to keep the Bobcats at bay. Shular made a jump shot at the buzzer to help the Abbey take a 31-24 halftime lead.
  • A 14-2 run to open the second half gave Belmont Abbey the spark it needed to pull away as part of a 31-point third quarter.
  • The 31 points is the most point scored in a quarter at any point this season for Belmont Abbey. The team also shot 67.9 percent from the field in the second half.
  • Nation recorded her 10th rebound midway through the third quarter while James' 10th assist came late in the contest.  
  • Valeria Batista also had eight rebounds in the game along with Janiah Shular.
  • The 82 points scored matches a season-high total for the Crusaders while the 21 assists is also a new season-best.
  • Belmont Abbey did not trail in the game and had 40 points in the paint.
REGIONAL RANKINGS UPDATE
  • Belmont Abbey was ranked No. 10 in the Southeast Regional Rankings released by the NCAA prior to Wednesday's contest
  • The Crusaders are one of four Conference Carolinas schools represented in the rankings along with Francis Marion (No. 3), UNC Pembroke (No. 5) and Chowan (No. 7).
UP NEXT
  • Belmont Abbey will await its next opponent in the Atlantic Casualty Insurance Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Championshp as the league office unveiled the full bracket Wednesday evening.
  • The win combined with a Chowan loss resulted in the Crusaders moved up to the No. 2 spot in the KPI rankings that determine the conference seeding.
  • The Crusaders will play the winner of the No. 3-6-7-12 in the semifinals at 2:45 p.m. Saturday, March 7th at Wofford's Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
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