BELMONT, N.C. — Fresh off of winning the Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship, the Belmont Abbey women's basketball team is prepared to take the court again as the No. 7 seed Crusaders take on No. 2 seed Coker in the first round of the NCAA Southeast Regional at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Dahlonega, Georgia.

The game will be played at the University of North Georgia at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center. The winner of Friday's game will play the winner of No. 3 seed Anderson and No. 6 seed Carson-Newman on Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Crusaders are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2020-21 season. That year, Belmont Abbey won the Southeast Regional title and advanced to the Elite Eight.

For this group of Crusaders, there is a sweeter feeling now after falling in the conference championship game the last two seasons.

"I think it means a lot to the entire team and hopefully, the school knowing that we have been close the last two years and being able to get over the hump," head coach Kim Lusk said. "I feel like our past experiences helped carry us to the ultimate goal that weekend."

Belmont Abbey enters the regional with a 25-5 overall record and have been lifted by Division II's top scoring defense, allowing just an average of 49 points per game.

The Crusaders average 61.7 points per game and are led by senior forward Peyton Nation, who enters the tournament averaging 15.2 points per game, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. She also earned several accolades for her efforts this season: Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-Conference, All-Defensive team honors and Conference Carolinas Tournament MVP.

Abigail Crain also earned first-team honors for the third straight year but will not be playing in the regionals after suffering a season-ending injury late in the season. Nation added that the team has rallied around her and stepping up as needed.

"When she got hurt, it was like we needed a wake-up call," Nation said. "We had to figure it out and we've had people step up like Leigha (Dennison) and Janiah (Shular) incredibly well and that's helped us."

That's not to say that Dennison, who scored the go-ahead basket with 6.8 seconds left to defeat Francis Marion in the title game Sunday or Shular are the only ones who haven't stepped up. That list also includes Riley James, who scored 16 points in the title game, Cate Schieber and Ivana Bijic with 3-point shooting and defense, Madison Lusk off the bench, Valeria Batista in the starting lineup and so many others who have their chances to shine. Everyone else has had moments to come through when needed and that's been the message that Lusk has preached since the first day of practice.

"That's ultimately the goal is that we play like a team on both ends of the floor," she said. "I told them in practice that we're not really concerned with who the player is that puts the ball in the basket. It's just about how we go about doing it."

The Crusaders will be tested against a Coker team that is making its debut in the NCAA Tournament and enters with a 26-4 record after winning the South Atlantic Conference regular season title. Led by head coach Melissa DeVore and SAC Player of the Year Shawnteanna Tillman, Lusk is prepared for the opportunity to face the Cobras.

"I think they are a team that has an aggressive defensive style," Lusk said. "They've got some key offensive threats. We'll just continue to do what we've done all season which is focus on the areas that we have more control over and I think it's going to be a really good matchup."