MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team extended its win streak to six games with an impressive wire-to-wire victory over the Reinhardt University Eagles inside McAlister Gymnasium Wednesday evening. With a 71-54 triumph, the Cavaliers moved to 14-5 overall and 12-5 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contests. Montreat has now won seven of its eight matchups at home during the 2022-23 season.
 
The Cavs immediately used the longball to score six quick points as Adrianna Gullette and Aebri Graham knocked down shots from outside and RU missed its first four tries from the field. Five points from Mariya Williams extended the home team's advantage to nine (14-5), and the Cavaliers their continued hot shooting from deep, connecting on five of their opening eight attempts from three to lead by as many as 12 points in the frame. Tatiyana Cannon hit her first four triples of the quarter to help Montreat to a 26-17 edge through 10 minutes of play.
 
Though the Cavs built their advantage to 13 early in the second, a series of turnovers and a scoring drought aided the visitors in bringing themselves withing single digits midway through the period. Reinhardt then stepped up its defense, holding the Cavaliers without points for 6:10 and scoring 10 straight to trim its deficit to just three (30-27) with 2:39 remaining until halftime. Despite a stretch of 8:36 without a make from the field, an 8-0 run fueled by six free throws allowed Montreat to keep a double-digit (38-27) lead at the break.
 
Cannon captained the Cavs in the first half with a career-high 12 points, while Williams contributed with nine points and a team-high six rebounds. Ja'Liah Wilson notched three of the Cavaliers' seven assists over the initial two quarters. Both teams cooled from the field as Montreat hit 11 of its 28 shots (39.3 percent) overall and 41.2 percent (7-17 3-pt FG) of its 3-pointers. Meanwhile, the Eagles drained 10 of their 28 attempts (35.7 percent), including a 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) effort from behind the arc.
 
RU (16-6, 15-3 AAC) continued closing the gap at the start of the third quarter. After a bucket by the Cavs, Reinhardt scored the ensuing 13 points to knot the contest at 40 3:51 into the second half. Baskets by three different Cavaliers then re-established a 6-point edge (46-40) as the Eagles missed eight of their next nine tries from the field, enabling Montreat to a slight 3-point advantage (49-46) with 10 minutes left in the game.
 
Cannon added her fifth make from beyond the arc, and the home side kept Reinhardt without a point for a stretch of 2:46, leading to a single-digit advantage for the first half of the final frame. Gullette helped extend that edge to double-digits thanks to 14 of her game-best and career-high 26 points. The Cavs played tough on defense, resulting in six Reinhardt turnovers and no field goals for the visitors over the last 6:21 of the competition to propel the Cavaliers to a 71-54 victory. Because of the defensive effort coupled with consistent offense, Montreat handed the Eagles just their third conference loss of the season, won its sixth straight contest for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign and defeated Reinhardt for the first time since Feb. 6, 2016.
 
"It was a great win tonight. I'm most proud of how my team stuck together and kept their composure in the second half," said head coach Josh Thompson. "We knew Reinhardt would come out and make a run and they did. We continued to battle down the stretch and it was close for most of the game. [Gullette] made some clutch plays in the fourth to help us seal the win," Thompson noted.
 
Gullette went 9-for-21 from the field and 6-for-7 at the charity stripe to score her 26 points. Cannon finished with 17 points, the best output of her collegiate career, while Williams and Makayla Thompson each added nine points. Vaniyah Petty secured a team-high eight boards, and Williams grabbed seven.
 
Overall, an effective fourth quarter (7-13 FG) from the Cavaliers helped the squad shoot 39.7 percent (23-58 FG) compared to RU's 37.3 percent (19-51 FG). The Cavs also knocked down nine of their 26 3-pointers (34.6 percent) to Reinhardt's 29.4 percent (5-17 3-pt FG).
 
Women's basketball will attempt to continue its win streak when the Cavaliers host Milligan on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.