ANDERSON, S.C. - With all five starters reaching double figures in the scoring column, second-seeded Anderson defeated No. six seed Belmont Abbey, 78-70, in semifinal round action of the Conference Carolinas' women's basketball tournament Thursday night at the Abney Athletic Center. With the win Anderson (19-10) advances to the championship game Saturday night and will play host to Queens, which claimed the other side of the tournament bracket by defeating eighth-seeded Erskine, 81-58. The Trojans will be looking to win their second straight tournament title and make their seventh consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off versus the Lady Royals is slated for 7 p.m. at the Abney Center. Belmont Abbey (18-11), which had won two straight and seven of its last nine contests coming into tonight's game, scored the first points of the game on a basket by junior Shayla Jackson, but Anderson countered by reeling off 12 of the 15 points to take a seven-point advantage less than four minutes into the contest. Freshman sharpshooter Amanda Parris fueled the outburst by connecting on two 3-pointers, first from the left wing then from the right side. The Lady Crusaders answered with an 8-0 run of their own to take their second lead of the opening half, and the lead changed hands six times over the next two-plus minutes as the teams battled for an edge. The Trojans, winners of four straight games and nine of their last 10, built a 29-22 cushion by shooting 62.5 percent, including connecting on 4-of-8 from beyond the arc midway through the first half, and gained a 38-27 advantage on guard Alexa Neal's 3-pointer from deep in the left corner with just 1:27 left before intermission. Anderson held a lead that fluctuated between four and seven points before opening the largest lead of the game at 53-40 at the 14:23 mark of the second half. Junior Ashley Abed sparked the surge with two free throws and Parris followed with her third 3 of the night, while senior guard Shanice Wilson capped the run with two consecutive driving layups. But the Abbey refused to disappear and chipped away at the AU lead, eventually pulling to within just two, on an Ashley Giddens' trey with 5:47 remaining in the contest and threatened to tie the score for the first time since midway through the first half when sophomore guard Asha Hardaway swiped the ball and found teammate Amanda McDonald with a pass. McDonald worked her way inside for a contested look, but was unable to connect and Parris netted another 3-pointer on the other end as Anderson regained the momentum. The Trojans were a perfect 6-of-6 at the line down the stretch to hold off the Crusaders inside the final two minutes. Belmont Abbey's Courtney Naquin scored a game-high 21 points, while Jackson added 18 in the effort. Ashley Giddens netted 16 points on the night. Parris and Wilson paced the Trojans, each with 16 points and Abed narrowly missed a double-double, garnering 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman center Maci Siniard added 14 points and Neal dropped in 10 points. Box Score
May 25, 2010
Women's Hoops to Welcome Six Newcomers in 2010
March 12, 2010
Trojans Fall to Top-Seeded Lander
March 11, 2010
Trojan Women's Hoops Set for NCAA Appearance
March 8, 2010
Women's Basketball Seeded 8th in Southeast Region
March 6, 2010
Trojans Claim Conference Tournament Crown
March 5, 2010
Neal Named First-team All-Conference
March 4, 2010
Balanced Attack Leads Trojans to Title Game
March 1, 2010
Trojans Defeat Pfeiffer, Move to Semifinals
February 27, 2010
Women's Basketball Sends Seniors out in Style
February 24, 2010
Late Charge Leads Trojans Past Lady Bobcats
February 20, 2010
Barton Holds Off Trojans
February 18, 2010
Anderson Cruises Past Converse
February 15, 2010
Abed and Neal Lead Trojans Past Queens
February 13, 2010
Trojans Down St. Andrews for Third Straight Win
February 11, 2010
Anderson Cruises Past Coker behind Siniard's 20
February 8, 2010
Late Rally Lifts Trojans Past Limestone
February 6, 2010
Mount Olive Holds Off Trojans
February 2, 2010
Women's Basketball Rescheduled
February 2, 2010
Women's Basketball Edges Flying Fleet
January 30, 2010
Basketball Games Postponed
January 28, 2010
Belmont Abbey Holds Off Trojans
January 26, 2010
First Half Drought Proves Costly As Trojans Fall
January 25, 2010
Anderson Falls to Barton in Battle for First Place
January 23, 2010
Trojans Beat Erskine
January 18, 2010
Second-Half Rally Lifts Trojans Past Cobras
January 16, 2010
Trojans Use Big First Half to Top St. Andrews
January 13, 2010
Limestone Holds Off Women's Basketball
January 9, 2010
Women's Basketball Tops Mount Olive
January 7, 2010
Trojans Down Converse
January 4, 2010
Women's Basketball Rolls Past Bobcats
December 27, 2009
Siniard Earns Player of the Week Honors
December 20, 2009
Trojans Stumble at Newberry
December 16, 2009
Trojans Suffer Road Setback at Wingate
December 8, 2009
Neal Named Conference Player of the Week
December 5, 2009
Women's Basketball Edges Queens in a Thriller
December 1, 2009
Trojans Top Augusta State
November 24, 2009
Trojans Roll Past Belmont Abbey for First Win
November 18, 2009
Trojans Suffer Setback in Home Opener
November 17, 2009
Carson-Newman Outlasts Trojans
November 11, 2009
WNBA Superstar Tamika Catchings Visits AU
November 2, 2009
Trojans Drop Exhibition Contest at Clemson
October 22, 2009
Women's Basketball Selected Third in Poll
October 7, 2009
Women's Hoops Releases 2009-10 Schedule
September 23, 2009
Women's Basketball Adds Eight Newcomers