BELMONT, N.C. – For the first time in over six seasons the Converse University women's basketball team (4-5, 2-1 Conference Carolinas) defeated the Belmont Abbey Crusaders (5-5, 1-1 Conference Carolinas), doing so by a final score of 62-54. It is the first time in over seven years that the Valkyries knocked off the Crusaders in Belmont.
Redshirt senior center Sydney Wilson again led the Valkyries in scoring with 23 points, a new single-game for the Valkyries this season. She also posted eight rebounds. Reigning Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Week, junior guard Elisa Solé Sanchez, posted 12 points, four assists, two rebounds and a steal. Graduate guard Jordan Brown netted the Valkyries 11 points, a team-high nine rebounds, four assists, and half of the team's six steals.
The Valkyries got off to an early lead after going back-and-forth with the Crusaders over the first three minutes. After cutting the lead to one point with six-and-a-half minutes to play in the opening quarter, Converse proceeded to go on an eight-point, five-minute run that gave the Valkyries a lead they did not relinquish. By the end of the first quarter, the Valkyries had doubled-up the Crusaders and led 18-9.
Converse struggled a bit out of the huddle in the second quarter, taking almost four minutes to score after beginning play in the second period. While the Crusaders were able to cut the lead to just one point, on multiple occasions, the Valkyries bent but never broke and held onto the lead. That lead again ballooned to as many as nine points before Belmont Abbey cut the lead to seven just before the halftime buzzer sounded. Leading 62-54, the Valkyries headed into the locker room with a halftime lead for the second consecutive game.
Despite the Crusaders out-scoring the Valkyries in the third quarter by three points, it was also in the third frame that Converse saw their largest lead of the contest, 11 points, when Brown sank a layup with 3:33 remaining in the quarter.
In the final quarter, Converse held Belmont Abbey off of the scoreboard for the first two minutes of the quarter. Once again, allowing the Crusaders a glimmer of hope, the Crusaders cut the lead to two points multiple times throughout the final ten minutes. But the Valkyries always responded with a basket of their own and ended the game on a 7-4 run over the final two minutes, securing the 62-54 victory and sole possession of first place in Conference Carolinas' Northwest division.
The Valkyries are back on the court on Monday, Dec. 18 as they head to Florence, South Carolina for their final Conference Carolinas matchup before the holiday break.
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