Brittane Neely finished with a team-high 11 points with seven rebounds and three steals
Box Score vs. Belmont Abbey
Charlotte, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball defeated Belmont Abbey College 68-56 on Saturday afternoon inside Brayboy Gymnasium. JCSU improves to 6-0 after their fourth win at home, while the Lady Crusaders move to 1-5 in the standings.
The game went back and forth until the Lady Golden Bulls caught a rhythm. Midway through the first, senior center
Brittane Neely (Arlington, VA) hit her second of two free throws to give JCSU a 14-13 lead. Belmont allowed eight more unanswered points to fall behind 22-13 with 7:50 on the clock. Some long range shooting from Kelsey Long quickly put the Lady Crusaders in contention.
Junior guard
LaQwesha Gamble (Winter Haven, FL) drove the lane and drew a foul on a lay-up off the glass. Gamble completed the three point play at the free throw line and put JCSU ahead 29-27 with 2:21 remaining before the half. Junior guard
Terran Quattlebaum (Mitchellville, MD) made the final field goal of the period and Belmont trailed 31-27 at the break.
JCSU shot 38% (13-34) in the first half and 71% (5-7) from the free throw line. Neely and Gamble both had a team-high seven points in the initial period. Kelsey Long had 14 points for Belmont, including 4-of-4 shooting from the three point line.
The Lady Crusaders were outmatched in the second half, falling behind by as much as 21 with 6:24 remaining. J.C. Smith outscored Belmont 25-7 in the ten minutes prior to their largest lead. JCSU dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Lady Crusaders 40-22.
Neely finished with a team-high 11 points with seven rebounds and three steals. Freshman guard Chante' Bell (Fayetteville, NC) and junior guard
Shavonda Price (Ft. Wayne, IN) followed with a 10 and nine point bursts off the bench. Gamble was one point shy of her fifth double-double with nine points, 12 rebounds, and four steals.
Paula Regalado and Kelsey Long shouldered the bulk of the scoring for Belmont with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Johnson C. Smith jumps into conference action against St. Paul's College on Monday, December 13th inside Brayboy Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The Lady Golden Bulls swept St. Paul's last season.
