Tigerville, S.C.—The North Greenville women’s basketball fell to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play on Tuesday night after losing a closely contested battle with Belmont Abbey 58-55 in Hayes Gymnasium.

Alisha Hope led the Crusaders with 13 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. The Crusaders almost doubled their total rebounds for the year with 40 on the night.

Neither team led by as many as four points until the 5:42 mark in the first period when Belmont extended its lead to seven. NGU cut the lead to two with just 2:43 left in the half but Abbey closed the half on a 6-2 run to take a six point advantage into intermission.

NGU wiped out a 13 point deficit in the second half and eventually took a one point lead with 3:11 left in the game but Abbey eventually regained the advantage at 58-55 with 25 seconds left. North Greenville gained possession with 5 seconds left in the game, but a last second heave from Ashleigh Edwards hit off the front iron and fell harmlessly to the floor.

Abbey was led by Alyx Ingram who tallied 9 points in 14 minutes of play. Melisa Foures led the Crusaders with three rebounds. Belmont Abbey shot 37.5 percent from the field for the game and 35.7 percent from behind the arch. North Greenville finished with a 31.6 percent field goal percentage and 11.1 percent from beyond the arch.

NGU will return to action on December 4^th in Columbia against Allen University. Tipoff between the Crusaders and Allen is set for 7pm.