MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team utilized an explosive fourth quarter on Monday evening inside McAlister Gymnasium to defeat the St. Andrews University Knights in Appalachian Athletic Conference action, 59-47. The victory pushed the Cavaliers back over .500 on the season at 10-9 (7-7 AAC) and marked their third consecutive win both overall and in conference action.
 
St. Andrews (0-16, 0-15 AAC) scored on its first two possessions of the evening, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead before the Cavaliers' defense and work on the offensive glass started to take over. Montreat went on an 11-2 spurt over 6:14, scoring nine of its 11 points off turnovers or offensive rebounds. A late Knights' basket cut the Cavalier lead to 11-8 heading into the second quarter.
 
Destiny Lewis hit the lone 3-pointer for either side in the first half, connecting on the triple 90 seconds into the frame to put the Cavaliers up 14-10. Despite not hitting from behind the arc, the Knights gradually closed the gap and even retook the lead on an and-one to jump ahead 19-18. The advantage was short-lived, however, as Caleigh Raby and Lewis both finished at the rim to give Montreat the 23-21 edge at halftime.
 
Neither side found a consistent rhythm offensively through 20 minutes, with the Knights shooting 34.5 percent (10-29 FG) and the Cavs shooting 30.0 percent (9-30 FG). Both teams struggled with turnovers as well, as the Cavs lost possession 10 times and St. Andrews did the same on eight occasions. The difference in the first half came at the free throw line and behind the arc. Lewis hit the lone 3-pointer of the half as both teams combined to shoot 1-for-19 from deep, and St. Andrews never attempted a free throw—Montreat went 3-for-5 at the charity stripe. Lewis led Montreat at the break with six points.
 
The third quarter belonged to St. Andrews early on. Montreat scored its first point on a Vaniyah Petty free throw nearly five minutes into the quarter, while the Knights tallied nine points over the same stretch. Trailing 30-24, the Cavs relied on upperclassmen to turn the tide. Lewis and Raby scored the final 10 points of the quarter for Montreat, and the defense held the Knights to just two points over five minutes to re-establish the Cavaliers' two-point lead (34-32) heading into the final frame.
 
Like Montreat's win over Johnson University (Tenn.) just five days prior, the fourth quarter proved to be the period that tipped the contest in the Cavs' favor. Continuing a run that started in the third quarter, the Cavaliers outscored St. Andrews by 20 points (25-5) over 8:27. Alaina McPherson, who recorded a career-high in scoring, added 10 of her 14 total points in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers connected on 10 of their 13 shot attempts from the field in the game's final period, leading to a 25-point frame and a 59-47 win.
 
The Cavaliers finished the evening shooting 41.1 percent (23-56 FG) overall and 23.5 percent (4-17 3-pt FG) from 3-point range, both ahead of St. Andrews' 32.2 percent (19-59 FG) from the field and five percent (1-20 3-pt FG) from deep. Montreat also made nine of its 12 free throw attempts (75.0 percent), which bested St. Andrews' 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) effort.
 
Raby led the Cavaliers in scoring for the 10^th time this season, scoring 18 points on the night. Jessyka Leak and Lewis joined Raby and McPherson in double figures in scoring with 10 points each. McPherson also added eight rebounds to pace Montreat, while Leak did the same with four helpers.
 
Cavalier women's basketball hits the road for its next contest on Wednesday at Bluefield University. Tipoff is currently scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Bluefield, Va.