BARBOURVILLE, Ky.— The Montreat women's basketball team came away with a 65-59 overtime victory over Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) foe Union College (Ky.) on the road Tuesday evening. With the triumph, the Cavaliers picked up their 11^th win of the 2022-23 campaign, moving to 11-5 overall and 9-5 in AAC play.
 
A pair of 3-pointers by Adrianna Gullette and a basket by Mariya Williams helped Montreat out to an 8-3 lead midway through the opening quarter. The Bulldogs answered with an immediate 9-2 stretch to go up 12-10, and the Cavaliers struggled from behind the arc, missing eight consecutive attempts to allow Union a 14-13 edge through the initial 10 minutes.
 
Five straight points from Makayla Thompson gave the Cavs an 18-14 advantage to start the second; however, the home side responded with five of their own in the back-and-forth frame. The high-scoring period, which featured five lead changes and as many ties, saw the teams combine for 42 points as Montreat outscored Union 23-19 during the 10 minutes.
 
Thompson continued to hit from the field, scoring all 10 of her first-half points in the second quarter and aiding the Cavs to a 3-point advantage (25-22) halfway through the frame. Despite Thompson's efficient quarter, the Bulldogs hit five buckets from deep to keep close to the Cavaliers. Late in the period, Gullette poured in six more points, while Williams added a layup to give Montreat a 36-33 lead at the break.
 
Gullette captained all scorers with 12 points, Thompson contributed in double-figures with 10 and Williams notched eight to go with four rebounds. The Bulldogs shot better from the field than the Cavs by connecting on 13 of 23 tries (56.5 percent) thanks largely to a 50.0-percent showing (6-12 3-pt FG) from deep in the half. Meanwhile, Montreat drained 48.3 percent (14-29 FG) of its looks overall and four of its 14 attempts (28.6 percent) from three.
 
Gullette tallied five quick points to extend the Cavs' lead to eight (41-33) under a minute into the third quarter, but offense eluded the visitors over the ensuing eight minutes of the competition. Following a basket by Williams 1:51 into the quarter, the Cavaliers went 7:08 of gametime without points and 8:07 without a make as Union used a 9-0 stretch over the span to lead 44-43 with 3:25 left in the period. Although Montreat struggled in the frame, Williams capped off the quarter with a free throw and a layup to give the visitors a 46-44 edge.
 
The Cavaliers and Bulldogs traded blows at the start of the fourth, resulting in three ties and four lead changes. With 4:32 remaining and Union holding a 55-54 advantage, turnovers and missed shots abounded, leading to only three free throws for the rest of regulation as the teams needed extra basketball to settle the competition.
 
After the Bulldogs hit a shot from the charity stripe to open overtime, Williams scored the next four points as the Cavaliers utilized a 6-0 spurt to lead 62-57 with 90 seconds remaining. The defense kept Union from making a shot for the opening 4:45 of the frame, and Williams sealed a 65-59 victory with two free throws.
 
Williams ended the night with a massive double-double, scoring a game-high 23 points, while also hauling in a matchup-best 14 rebounds. Gullette finished the contest with 19 points, and Thompson contributed with another 14 points in addition to her team-high six assists. The trio of Williams, Gullette and Thompson accounted for 20 of the squad's 24 connections from the field as well as 56 of the 65 Cavalier points scored.
 
"It was great to get another road win. We didn't shoot the ball very well, but we battled on defense," mentioned head coach Josh Thompson.
 
Despite the triumph by Montreat, it was the home side who shot better as the Bulldogs knocked down 42.3 percent (22-52 FG) of their tries over 45 minutes, while the Cavs made 39.3 percent (24-61 FG) of their attempts. Union (3-16, 3-12 AAC) was also more efficient from deep, hitting nine of 24 shots (37.5 percent) compared to the Cavaliers' mere 18.5-percent (5-27 3-pt FG) performance. Montreat did come away with more turnovers forced (20-15) and points off turnovers (19-9). The Cavs also grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to the Bulldogs' 13, and made 12 free throws to Union's six.
 
Women's basketball now faces Brenau University on Thursday. Tipoff inside McAlister Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.