MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team returned to Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play with a tilt against the Truett McConnell University Bears inside McAlister Gymnasium Wednesday afternoon. Despite an admirable effort, the Cavaliers dropped a tight 58-57 decision, moving to 7-9 (4-7 AAC) on the season.
 
Baskets by Aebri Graham and Jessyka Leak saw the Cavs go on a short 5-0 spurt to start the contest. Destiny Lewis then added seven consecutive Montreat points to put the home team up 12-4 midway through the first frame.
 
A 7-2 stretch by Truett McConnell allowed the visitors to creep to within two, but the Cavaliers maintained a slim advantage (20-17) through the opening period thanks to seven points each from Leak and Lewis.
 
TMU utilized the momentum from its late first-quarter run to score the initial seven points of the second and take a 24-20 lead over the Cavs; however, buckets from Triniti Lockhart and Daisy Rice knotted the contest at 24 five minutes prior to halftime. Concluding the half on a 10-2 run, Montreat's eight different scorers powered the team to a 30-26 advantage.
 
At the intermission, the Cavaliers held a slight shooting edge by connecting on 12 of their 34 attempts (35.3 percent) compared to the Bears' 34.4 percent (11-32 FG). Despite makes from deep early in the game, the Cavs slowed from beyond the arc to end the second, which demonstrated the importance of rebounding, a category that Montreat led 24-22 with 20 minutes to play. Leak captained all players with nine boards in the first half, while no other player for either team had more than four.
 
Both squads traded runs to begin the third period, a frame in which neither team led by more than five points after Caleigh Raby started the quarter by putting the Cavaliers up seven (33-26). An immediate 7-0 Bears stretch leveled the competition, setting the stage for a tight battle over the final half of play. TMU, who outscored the home team 18-9 in the third, went into the last frame with a five-point edge (44-39).
 
Following a 3-pointer that gave the Bears a 47-39 lead, Raby answered with five straight points to pull the Cavaliers within three. In the back-and-forth contest, Truett McConnell (7-8, 5-5 AAC) held a six-point advantage with 3:29 remaining. Over the final three minutes of game time, Montreat chipped away at its deficit, ultimately trailing by a single point (58-57) with 1:11 left on the clock. Though the Cavs had three opportunities to tie or take the lead late, two of the team's 14 turnovers hampered a quality chance to overcome TMU's slim edge, resulting in the one-point victory for the visitors.
 
Leak used a 5-of-9 performance from three to lead all scorers with 16 points. The Charlotte, N.C. native also grabbed a game-best 12 rebounds to complete her double-double, the fourth for Leak this season. That 12-rebound performance also put Leak above the 500 plateau for her Cavalier career. Raby joined her counterpart in double-digits with 12 points.
 
The Bears shot slightly better than the Cavs from the field (37.7 percent to 35.1 percent) and from deep (31.3 percent to 27.6 percent), but Montreat out-performed the visitors from the charity stripe (81.8 percent to 50.0 percent). The Cavaliers also blocked two shots to Truett's none.
 
The Cavaliers now go on the road to face the Columbia College Koalas on Saturday. Tipoff in South Carolina is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.