MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team strung together wins for the first time this season thanks to a 71-61 victory over the Columbia College Koalas inside McAlister Gymnasium Wednesday evening, fueled by a career-high 31 points from Caleigh Raby. With the triumph, the Cavaliers advanced to 3-3 (2-2 AAC) on the year.
 
Montreat utilized physical play to get on the board early, drawing five Columbia fouls in the opening six minutes. Over the span, Raby poured in half of the Cavs' 14 points as the home team jumped out to a 14-2 lead. Strong defense from the Cavaliers kept the Koalas to only one make on their first 13 attempts, which built the advantage to double digits. Though the visitors crept closer at the end of the first quarter, Montreat still led by seven (20-13) after 10 minutes of play.
 
"One of the things we always ask our girls to do is to be prepared to step up and Caleigh [Raby] did a phenomenal job of that. She really gave us a boost," mentioned head coach Tim Lewis.
 
The Cavs improved on their shooting in the second frame to expand their advantage to as many as 12 following a 17-12 run to begin the period. Raby contributed 10 more of her 19 first-half points during the stretch; however, Columbia made 11 of 19 tries in the quarter to trim its deficit to just three at halftime (41-38).
 
The lone dark spot in Montreat's performance occurred in the third frame, when the Cavs shot only 21.1 percent (4-19 FG) from the field, allowing Columbia to take its first lead of the contest (42-41) 1:39 into the period. Despite struggling on offense for 10 minutes, the Cavaliers shut down the Koalas, who connected on just five of their 15 attempts in the third.
 
Beginning the final frame with a three-point edge, Raby and Montreat closed out the victory after 10 additional points from the Hudson, N.C. native. The senior, who ended the evening with a 13-of-21 showing (five of nine from three), willed the ball through the basket and finished with career highs in both field goals made and total points.
 
"My teammates definitely kept me fueled," said Raby. "They are a big part of the win tonight. I think we played really well as a whole and got stops when we needed them," she stated.
 
Effective rebounding sealed the game in the Cavs' favor down the stretch. Although Montreat shot slightly worse than the visitors on the night (39.4 percent to 38.5 percent), a 48-36 edge on the boards, including 18 offensive rebounds, paved the way for second-chance opportunities and the 10-point triumph.
 
"We challenge our girls to get offensive rebounds and we got 12 in the second half," added Lewis. "We challenged our girls to get more stops defensively and they responded."
 
Jessyka Leak joined Raby in double figures with 14 points, while also grabbing 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Mariya Williams concluded the matchup one point away from her fourth consecutive double-double, recording nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
"It was a fun game. We knew [Columbia] wouldn't go down easily. They had some runs, but our girls were able to withstand those runs, get some stops when we needed to and get some buckets, too," ended Lewis.
 
Women's Basketball returns to action with a conference matchup against Columbia International on Saturday. Tipoff in South Carolina is slated for 2:00 p.m.