SPARTANBURG, S.C. — For the first time since the 2020-21 season, the Belmont Abbey women's basketball team is going back to the NCAA Tournament.

Leigha Dennison made the game-winning basket with 6.8 seconds remaining and the Crusaders made one final defensive stand to earn a 63-62 win over Francis Marion Sunday afternoon at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

Dennison's basket was two of her game-high 17 points while Riley James had 16 points and Peyton Nation added 13. Dennison also had three steals while James added two assists.

The Crusaders were playing in their third straight Conference Carolinas Tournament title game under head coach Kim Lusk.

Belmont Abbey improves to 25-5 overall and will await its first-round opponent in the NCAA Southeast Regional. Francis Marion is now 23-6 and will also await its postseason fate.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Belmont Abbey shot 61.5 percent from the field in the first quarter with Dennison leading the way with 10 points.
• The Crusaders started the game with a 14-3 run and led 24-9 after the end of the first quarter.
• Belmont Abbey's largest lead in the first half was 18 points early in the second quarter.
• Despite a Francis Marion rally, Belmont Abbey led 36-23 at the half.
• The Abbey saw its lead drop to five after a 10-2 run by Francis Marion but the Crusaders answered with a 6-0 run to get the lead back to 11 points.
• Nation took a charge in the final seconds of the third quarter to help Belmont Abbey preserve an eight-point lead.
• Belmont Abbey's first four points of the fourth quarter came from the free throw line as FMU took its first lead of the game with 3:37 to go.
• Riley James' jump shot with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter was the first field goal of the quarter for the Crusaders.
• The Patriots took the lead with another 3-pointer with 1:47 to go to take a 62-59 lead.
• Nation made a pair of free throws to make it 62-61and the Belmont Abbey defense held strong with a forced jump ball with 16.2 seconds left.
• That set the stage for Dennison's game-winning layup which hung on the rim before falling with 6.8 seconds left.
• The Abbey made the final defensive stand to secure the win and the title.
• Belmont Abbey went 16-18 from the free throw line.
• The Crusaders had 28 rebounds with a team-high eight from Janiah Shular.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

• Following the game, Leigha Dennison, Riley James were named to the All-Tournament team while Peyton Nation was named Tournament MVP.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

• Hear from head coach Kim Lusk, Riley James and Leigha Dennison in the postgame press conference here.

UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey will await its first-round opponent with the NCAA Selection Show Sunday night.
• The show will air at 10:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.