MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team hosted the Point University Skyhawks Saturday afternoon for its first home game since Dec. 7. Back inside McAlister Gymnasium, the Cavaliers used a perfect 3-point shooting performance in the first half and an elite defensive effort in the second half to defeat the Skyhawks, 72-56, and sweep the season series. With the victory, the Cavs improved to 10-5 overall and 8-5 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) competition.
 
A 1-for-3 start from the field coupled with three turnovers had the Cavs down a bucket early, but Adrianna Gullette and Vaniyah Petty answered swiftly with a 7-0 spurt over the course of 0:52 seconds to put the hosts in front, 10-6, just four minutes in. Even though the Skyhawks forced another trio of turnovers to spark a 10-2 run and retake the lead with just 77 seconds left in the quarter (18-15), it was Makayla Thompson who had the final say. Thompson buried her second triple of the frame and added two free throws for good measure to put Montreat ahead 20-18 entering the quarter break.
 
While the Cavs shot a highly-efficient 65.0 percent (13-for-20 FG) from the field throughout the entire first half, Montreat's 3-point shooting proved to be the biggest separator between the two sides. Thompson, Amaya Adams and Tatiyana Cannon each connected from deep in the period to extend the hosts' late first-quarter run out to 20-4. Thanks to a 7-for-7 showing from beyond the arc in the first half, the Cavaliers led by as many as 13 points (35-22) before ultimately taking a 42-32 edge into halftime.
 
Point (11-6, 9-4 AAC) made 46.2 percent of its first-half looks (12-26 FG), but the Skyhawks couldn't keep up from long distance as the visitors converted on 3-of-10 attempts from 3-point range. Both teams took advantage of their trips to the charity stripe with Montreat making nine of its 10 free throws and Point going 5-for-6 (83.3 percent). The Skyhawks owned 18-4 advantage in the paint at intermission, and the Cavs held a slim 17-15 edge in points off turnovers. Thompson led all scorers at the break thanks to her 4-for-4 3-point effort (14 points). Meanwhile, Chesnee Freeman paced all athletes with three assists.
 
Five different Cavaliers scored in the third quarter as Thompson poured in six points and Cierra Lail contributed five points to lead the offense. Even though the hosts cooled off slightly from the floor (7-16 FG; 43.8 percent) in the third, the defense picked up its intensity and forced seven turnovers to slow down Point's attack. As a result, the Montreat lead grew to 60-46 with just 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
The Cavalier defense continued its dominance in the final quarter of action, forcing the Skyhawks into a plethora of tough looks. Trailing by 14 entering the frame, Point failed to convert on a shot attempt for initial 8:11 (0-13 FG). On the other side, Mariya Williams, Petty and Gullette scored all 12 of the Cavs' fourth-quarter points in the paint or at the free throw line. Those two factors helped Montreat build its lead to as large as 21 points (70-49) as the hosts ultimately claimed victory over the Skyhawks, 72-56.
 
"I'm very proud of my team today," said head coach Josh Thompson. "It was great to be playing back at home for the first time in over a month. The crowd was awesome and really gave us energy. Both our effort and our defense were better, and it always helps to shoot the ball as well as we did."
 
Montreat shot a season-high 51.1 percent overall (23-45 FG) and 60.0 percent from deep (9-15 3-pt FG), and the Cavaliers also took advantage of their chances at the line (17-23 FT; 73.9 percent). Point saw its shooting numbers plummet in the second half as the Cavs held them to 19-of-52 overall (35.8 percent) and 7-of-25 from 3-point range (26.9 percent). Montreat owned a 25-20 points off turnovers edge despite both teams having turned the ball over 18 times.
 
Thompson, who shot 6-for-8 from beyond the arc, led all players with 20 points and seven rebounds. Gullette added 18 points, four boards and three steals in the win.
 
The Montreat women's basketball team hits the road on Tuesday for its next AAC matchup at Union College. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. in Barbourville, Ky.