BELMONT, N.C. — The Belmont Abbey women's basketball team closed out its home schedule on a strong note as the Crusaders defeated Emmanuel 80-69 Wednesday evening at the Wheeler Center.

Leigha Dennison finished with a team-high 16 points to lead the Abbey while Riley James added 13 points and six assists. Janiah Shular and Sofia McNabb also finished in double figures scoring with 12 points off the bench each.

Belmont Abbey improves to 19-6 overall and 14-4 in Conference Carolinas play. Emmanuel is 12-12 overall and 7-11 in the conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams exchanged the leads early but a 7-0 run in the first quarter helped Belmont Abbey gain a 13-7 lead.
• After the Lions got the lead in the early moments of the second quarter, the Crusaders held Emmanuel almost five minutes without scoring and scored nine points during that stretch.
• The Crusaders outscored the Lions 19-3 during that stretch up until halftime.
• Baskets from Shular, James and McNabb helped Belmont Abbey push to a 15-point lead in the third quarter.
• Emmanuel tried to rally but Belmont Abbey went 13-of-18 from the free throw line to help put the game away.
• Brielle George finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Seven different Crusaders recorded a steal in the win.
• The Crusaders finished with 21 points off of 19 Emmanuel turnovers.

REGIONAL RANKINGS

• Earlier in the day, the Belmont Abbey women's basketball team was listed as Under Consideration in the first Southeast Region rankings released by the NCAA Wednesday.
• The Crusaders, along with Francis Marion, were the two Conference Carolinas teams, listed in the initial rankings.
• The first rankings are revealed in alphabetical order.

UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey heads on the road for its final two games of the regular season.
• First up will be a trip to Southern Wesleyan for a 2 p.m. start from Tysinger Gymnasium