by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College women's basketball team will get a strong early-season test in its Conference Carolinas opener Wednesday night when the Lady Bulldogs travel to face Belmont Abbey College in a 5:30 p.m. contest.
The Crusaders were picked second in the league's preseason coaches' poll, and are ranked No. 4 in the Southeast Region in a new weekly poll launched this year, the Women's Basketball Division II Media Poll, Sponsored by D2SIDA.
BAC is coming off its best season in a decade, a 22-9 campaign in which it reached the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
However, Barton has enjoyed some recent success in the Wheeler Center, winning its last seven contests there, including games last year in both the regular season and the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
Belmont Abbey sports information will provide video for Wednesday's game.
Barton women's basketball fans can follow the Lady Bulldogs all season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Barton College Women's Basketball
The Lady Bulldogs (1-1) split a pair of matches over the weekend in the SAC/Conference Carolinas Challenge in Charlotte, defeating host Queens University 68-43 before falling to Catawba College 58-57 on a layup in the final seconds.
Senior Kaila Lea and freshman Alexis Johnson are both scoring 15 points per game through the first two contests, with Johnson also averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore Tiffany Webster has chipped in 9.5 points and 5.5 steals per contest.
Barton's pressure defense forced 28 turnovers in both games, twice as many as it committed. Against Queens, the Lady Bulldogs turned those turnovers into 30 points on the offensive end, but against the Indians, Barton failed to capitalize on those opportunities by shooting 31 percent from the field.
BC is averaging 37 percent shooting for the season, but has a chance to improve upon that as Belmont Abbey is allowing 46 percent.
In last year's regular season meeting with BAC, Barton sank 23 of 25 attempts from the free throw line in a 76-67 win. Brianna Thomas scored 11 points in that contest, and Caila Carter added 10 points and five rebounds. In the league tourney, Lea stepped up with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists as the No. 7 seeded Lady Bulldogs upset the No. 2 Crusaders, 78-77. Thomas contributed a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards, and Webster added 10 points, including the game-winning free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining.
Belmont Abbey College Women's Basketball
The Crusaders (1-1) split a pair of matches over the weekend in a different SAC/Conference Carolinas Challenge, this one played at Coker College in Hartsville, S.C.
Belmont Abbey was routed by Newberry College, 79-57, in the season-opener, but rallied from a three-point halftime deficit against the host Cobras to defeat Coker, 75-72.
Senior forward McKenzie Owen averaged 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two games and was named the Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Tuesday. Junior guard Morgan Midkiff added 11.5 points and four assists per contest, with senior Ashia Holmes chipping in nine points and six boards per game and senior Tajanna Brown averaging seven points and 5.5 rebounds.
In the loss to Newberry, Belmont Abbey shot just 36 percent and turned the ball over 21 times. Against Coker, the Crusaders handed the ball over 23 times, but made up for it by shooting 48 percent from the field. Owen and Midkiff, both returning all-conference selections, scored 21 and 19 points, respectively.
Last year, Barton limited Owen to just nine points and three rebounds in the regular-season win at the Wheeler Center, but Owen erupted for 22 points and 10 boards in a 73-71 overtime win in Wilson.
