COLUMBIA, S.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team utilized a clutch Destiny Lewis 3-pointer and a career afternoon from Jessyka Leak on Saturday at Columbia International University to snag its third consecutive win of the season. With the victory, the Cavaliers moved above .500 overall (4-3) and in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play (3-2).
 
In what proved to be a half of runs, the Cavaliers jumped out to an early 10-2 edge on CIU thanks to a pair of two-point baskets from Caleigh Raby and a pair of 3-pointers from Lewis and Leak. The Rams responded quickly, however, taking their first lead (13-10) during an 11-0 run. Leak helped flip momentum back in Montreat's favor, ending a four-and-a-half-minute scoring drought with a 3-point basket to tie the contest up at 13. That triple ultimately spurred a 13-2 Montreat run to close the first quarter and give the Cavs a 23-15 edge after 10 minutes of play.
 
Montreat pushed that scoring run out to 27-4 early in the second quarter as the defense really locked in on Columbia International. The Rams hit just seven of their opening 21 shots from the floor, while the Cavs hit nine of their first 17 3-point attempts. Leak scored 18 of Montreat's first 40 points, extending the lead out to its largest disparity of the half, 40-19. CIU made a late push to close the first half, but the Cavaliers took a 16-point lead (44-28) into the halftime break.
 
The Cavaliers only shot three percent better than CIU in the first half (43 percent-40 percent), but they took 10 more total attempts (40-30) and hit seven more triples (9-2). Montreat registered an assist on 12 of its 17 made baskets in the half. Individually, Leak led all scorers through 20 minutes of game action with 20 points, while Raby contributed 10 points and four assists of her own.
 
Columbia International (1-5, 1-3 AAC) stiffened up defensively in the third quarter, allowing just three points and forcing seven turnovers through the first 6:40. That defensive effort allowed the Rams to keep chipping away at Montreat's lead, whittling it down to just 47-42 via a 14-3 run. Montreat shot only 18.8 percent (3-16 FG) in the third quarter, but Leak's sixth made triple of the afternoon helped stem the tide and keep the Cavs ahead by three possessions entering the final quarter (54-47).
 
Like they did from the midpoint of the second quarter on, the Rams continued to shave points off Montreat's lead. Forcing seven turnovers in the final frame, CIU's defense gave it its first lead since the opening quarter, 68-67, with just 1:13 to play; however, like she did all afternoon, Leak made the timely plays to save Montreat's day. Leak snagged two offensive rebounds in the final minute and tallied an assist as she set up Destiny Lewis' go-ahead 3-point basket from the right wing to put the Cavaliers up for good, 70-68. A few Leak free throws down the stretch held off the Rams, and the Cavs rejoiced with a 74-71 victory as the Rams' last-second heave fell off the mark.
 
"We told our women it would be a game of runs, and it was just that," said head coach Tim Lewis. "A well-coached CIU team was able to put together some runs of their own. I'm proud of the team for finding a way to get a stop on the final possession to secure the game."
 
Columbia International held a slight edge on overall shooting percentage, hitting one more shot than Montreat (26-25) while both sides took 71 attempts from the field; however, the Cavaliers held a significant advantage from behind the arc, nailing 40.6 percent (13-32 FG) of their 3-pointers, while the Rams connected on just 27.3 percent (6-22 FG). Both teams shot over 70 percent at the free throw line.
 
Leak scored a career-high 29 points on the day, including drilling six of her nine triples and seven of her eight free throw attempts. She also led the Cavaliers with nine rebounds. Raby contributed 14 points on the afternoon, while dishing out seven assists, and Lewis added 12 points to go with three steals.
 
Lewis added, "We had some ladies hit some big shots this afternoon at different points of the game. Both Lewis and Leak gave us a boost on the offensive end."
 
Montreat women's basketball dives back into non-conference competition on Sunday with a road matchup at Warren Wilson College. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.