The Queen’s University of Charlotte women’s basketball team couldn’t find comfort at their home away from home Saturday night, as they fell to visiting Belmont Abbey 76-63 at the Grady Cole Center in Uptown Charlotte. The loss drops the Royals to 9-6 (10-10) on the season, while the Crusaders improve to 10-5 (12-8).
The Royals offered a balanced attack on the offensive end with four players scoring 10-plus points. Filling up the stat sheet for the Royals was
Marissa Hudley (Charlotte, N.C., Harding University ), who tallied 17 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and two steals in over 38 minutes of action.
Ashley McGuirt (Indian Trail, N.C., Providence Day) shot .500 from deep, going four-for-eight from behind the arc for 15 points while gathering two rebounds and two steals in over 34 minutes.
Shayla Jackson led all scorers with 28 points, six rebounds, and four steals for the Crusaders. Courtney Naquin scored 12 points on three-of-five shooting from deep.
Belmont Abbey was hot out of the gate, leading by as many as 14 points in the first seven minutes. Their largest lead came at 13:25 when
Cecilia Tchangoue (St. Jean Le Blanc, France, Forsyth Country Day) fouled Ashley Giddens on a three-point attempt. Giddens hit all three free-throws to put the Crusaders up 20-6. Laboring on the offensive end for the Crusaders was junior forward Jackson, who tallied 14 first-half points on six-of-11 shooting.
McGuirt hit three of her four first-half three pointers in a three-minute stretch that cut the Crusaders lead to five.
Jacquia Winstead (Elm City, N.C., Beddingfield) continued the Royals rally with a jumper with 4:35 left in the half to tie the game at 28 apiece. Less than a minute later, Queens would take their first lead of the game with another Winstead basket. The Royals would hold that lead and go into the break up 34-32.
The Royals couldn’t sustain their momentum in the second half, falling victim to a 23-7 Crusaders run.
The Crusaders scored 16 straight points during their run before the Royals could answer. An intentional foul against Winstead on a Jackson breakaway led to seven points in 34 seconds for the Crusaders.
A pair of
Dyonna Battle (Rocky Mount, N.C., Rocky Mount) free-throws would bring the Royals within eight points in the final 2:36.
The Crusaders held off the late attack hitting seven of their eight free-throws in the final 45 seconds.
Both teams made the best of their opportunities from the charity stripe, as Queens hit 14-of-16, while Belmont Abbey shot nearly twice as many, hitting 27-of-30.
Queens’ next game will take place at home against St. Andrews Presbyterian at 5:30 p.m.