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