GREENWOOD, Ind. — Four student-athletes of the Belmont Abbey women's basketball team have earned a spot on the 2024-25 Academic All-District from College Sports Communicators (CSC) this week by the organization.

Abigail Crain, Cate Schieber, Riley James and Leigha Dennison were the four Crusaders to earn the distinction on the team. Crain made the team for the third straight year while Schieber and James are making their second straight appearance. Dennison is making her first appearance on the team.

To be eligible for All-District honors, student-athletes must be a starter or key reserve with at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average and must have reached sophomore athletic eligibility. A select group of Academic All-District honorees will advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. The honorees will be announced on April 16.

Abigail Crain, F, Sr., Windermere, Fla.
Crain currently holds a 3.97 cumulative GPA and is an Accounting major with a minor in Cyber Audit, Risk and Compliance at Belmont Abbey. She finished the season and her Crusader career averaging 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 24 games this season. She finished 11th all-time in program history with 1,368 points and is also a three-time first-team All-Conference Carolinas selection. Additionally, she was recently named Belmont Abbey's Most Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete by the college.

Cate Schieber, G, Jr., New Albany, Ohio
Schieber currently holds a 3.82 GPA and is majoring in healthcare management here at Belmont Abbey. She is on pace to graduate from the college in three years. On the court, Schieber was the go-to outside shooter for the Crusaders, finishing with 63 made 3-pointers on the year and over 200 for her collegiate career. She was also a strong defender, finishing with 51 steals and 18 blocked shots this season. She was a third-team All-Conference Carolinas selection last year as well.

Riley James, G, Jr., Davidsonville, Md.
James currently holds a 3.74 GPA and is a human services major at Belmont Abbey. She's been the regular starter at point guard for the Crusaders, starting in all 31 games this season. was featured as the starting point guard for the Crusaders this year, starting and playing in 23 games this year. She averaged just under 10 points a game (9.8) and led the team in assists per game (4.5). She had 14 games of scoring in double figures for the Crusaders and had her first career double-doubles of the season against Young Harris and Lees-McRae.

Leigha Dennison, G, So., Hilliard, Ohio
Dennison, a criminal justice major at Belmont Abbey, is making her first appearance on the team. She currently holds a 3.72 GPA. The sophomore guard took on a greater role with the team this season, appearing in all 31 games and making 14 starts. One of the on-court highlights for Dennison was scoring a career-high 17 points in the Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship game, including the go-ahead basket to help the Crusaders win the title.

The Crusaders finished 25-6 on the season and won the Conference Carolinas Tournament title and made its first appearance at the NCAA Southeast Regional for the first time since the 2020-21 season.

The full CSC Academic All-District teams can be found here.