COLUMBIA, S.C.— After trailing for much of the contest, the Montreat women's basketball team rallied to secure a 55-52 road victory over the Columbia College Koalas Wednesday night. With the triumph, the Cavaliers improved to 9-5 overall and 7-5 in Appalachian Athletic Conference play.
 
Columbia (3-9, 3-8 AAC) used defensive pressure to lead swiftly as the Cavaliers committed five early miscues on offense. After the scoring advantage changed hands four times, the Koalas turned those mistakes into four points and jumped out to an 11-5 edge with 19 seconds left in the period. A 2-for-11 shooting performance by the Cavs gifted Columbia an 11-6 lead through 10 minutes.
 
A make from the free throw line, in addition to buckets from Mariya Williams and Chesnee Freeman, fueled five consecutive points to start the second frame as the Cavs came back to tie the contest at 11. Offensive rebounding paired with stout defense allowed Montreat to continue its run, outscoring the Koalas 8-2 and keeping the home team without a made field goal in the second en route to a 14-13 halftime lead.
 
Montreat shot 17.2 percent (5-29 FG) from the field in the opening half and Columbia hit five of 29 tries (18.5 percent), while neither squad made an attempt from deep. The Cavaliers held a distinct lead on the glass, 27-18, thanks largely to 11 offensive rebounds. Vaniyah Petty captained the visitors in both scoring (4) and rebounding (10) as five different Cavs recorded a point and seven grabbed rebounds over the initial 20 minutes of action. Petty's 10 first-half rebounds topped her season-best rebound total by three.
 
After combining for just 27 points through the first two quarters, both teams began to click offensively in the third frame. The Cavaliers immediately expanded their advantage to five due to makes on three of their first four shots, but Columbia answered to take a 24-23 lead midway through the period. Montreat retook an advantage briefly; however, the Koalas answered again in the high-scoring quarter as the home side went up by four. Though the Cavs used five points from Adrianna Gullette and four late ones from Ja'Liah Wilson to trim the gap to one (32-31) with 1:16 to go, CC held a 34-31 edge through three.
 
The fourth quarter featured a close 10 minutes, with neither team leading by more than five despite several baskets by each squad. Columbia gripped to its slight advantage, but Montreat responded following each Koala bucket, keeping the game within two possessions. Petty's second-chance make pulled the visitors within one (42-41) with 5:36 to go before the Cavs' only make from deep, a three from Aebri Graham, gave the team its first lead, 47-46, since 4:33 remained in the third. From that point on, the Cavaliers controlled the matchup, securing the win by allowing only a 3-pointer with one second on the clock and sealing the victory with six makes at the charity stripe down the stretch.
 
Gullette scored seven points in the final quarter to finish with a team-high 15, while Makayla Thompson and Petty each added six points to both end with 12. Petty was a force on the boards, snatching a career-best 16 rebounds to complete her third collegiate double-double. Williams also contributed with a double-digit effort on the glass with 11 boards.
 
"Columbia played really hard and gave us a great challenge. We battled and thankfully made some buckets late to pull ahead. This was a really tough road win," noted head coach Josh Thompson.
 
The Koalas led in shooting categories, converting on 33.3 percent (20-60 FG) of their overall attempts to the Cavs' 31.6 percent (18-57 FG) and 14.3 percent (3-21 3-pt FG) from behind the arc to Montreat's mere 9.1 percent (1-11 3-pt FG). Although the Cavaliers trailed in shooting, a 47-37 rebounding advantage, including 19 offensive boards, enabled Montreat to take the game. The Cavs also drained 18 of 28 free throws in the win.
 
Women's basketball now plays Point University on Saturday for its initial home contest of 2023. Tipoff inside McAlister Gymnasium is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.