ANDERSON, S.C. - An early second-half run lifted Anderson past Belmont Abbey, 62-52, in non-conference women's basketball action Tuesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

Anderson (2-3) broke open a close game with a 17-5 run to begin the second half, surging to a 46-30 lead with just less than 13 minutes on the clock, as the Trojans won their second game in their last three outings. Belmont Abbey, coming off a 62-57 home win past Virginia State, slipped to 2-2 on the season.

After opening the season with four consecutive road contests, Anderson overcame a slow start to claim its first home-opening win since defeating Converse, 80-46, in the Abney Center during the 2007-08 season.

The Trojans opened ice-cold from the field, connecting on just one of their first 11 shots, but stellar defense and offensive rebounding kept AU close. The score was tied five times and the lead changed hands on six occasions during the first 20 minutes, with neither team able to build more than a six-point advantage.

The Crusaders pushed out to a brief 25-19 lead with 2:32 remaining in the half, before Trojan freshman guard Sierra Simpson drained a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner and Alissa Diaz hit two from the charity stripe, as AU climbed back within 25-24 at the 1:47 mark.

Junior guard Amanda Parris scored the final four points of the frame by connecting on her lone trey of the night from the right side and hitting two free throws to give Anderson a 29-25 edge at intermission.

Diaz ignited the decisive outburst with a 3-pointer, then hit a jumper from the right side, with forward Breonda Shannon adding six points during the run. Junior Maci Siniard capped the surge with her first trey of the season with 12:57 on the clock, giving AU a 46-30 cushion.

But Belmont Abbey refused to surrender, countering with a 10-3 run of its own over the next four minutes to trim AU's lead to 49-40 with more than nine minutes left. Shannon slowed the Crusader's rally with a jumper in the lane, however BAC continued to chip away and trailed by just six with three minutes remaining.

Diaz connected on a jumper and Shannon followed two Belmont Abbey free throws with another basket to keep the margin at eight.

Diaz, who has reached double figures in four straight games, led all scorers with 15 points and handed out three assists, while Shannon narrowly missed her second double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Anderson has an eight-day layoff over the Thanksgiving break before opening South Atlantic Conference action at Brevard on Wednesday, Nov. 30.