All-Stars rally but fall late to Crusaders

Spartanburg, SC – The Converse All-Stars overcame an 11 point halftime deficit to pull within 6 points of Belmont Abbey in their season opener but would falter as clutch shots failed to drop and would eventually succumb to Belmont Abbey 64-54.

With Head Coach Brett Phillips in control of the All-Stars for the first time, Converse showed a vigor and passion that they have lacked in the past years and more than held their own against a strong Crusader line-up. With Belmont Abbey’s Nicole Woods (Gastonia, NC) and her game high 21 points, the Crusaders had a potent scorer who effectively sealed the game from the foul line with a 7 for 8 performance.

For the All-Stars it would be the fresh faces of Erika Kelly (Bruce, MS) and Carla Kantara (London, England) who lead the scoring with 14 and 8 points respectively. Mendy Dillard (Enoree, SC) was strong defensively with 7 rebounds including 5 offensive and the all-around hustle and fight of the All-Stars was on full display for the boisterous crowd of several hundred.

The Crusaders improve to 1-0 ahead of their next game when they host Johnson C. Smith at home next Tuesday while Converse drops to 0-1 and returns to action this weekend when they travel to Aiken, SC for the USC-Aiken Tournament to face Mount Olive and Tampa University.