MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team continued its hot stretch, winning its sixth consecutive contest thanks to an 81-68 victory over the St. Andrews University Knights inside McAlister Gymnasium Thursday evening. With the triumph, the Cavs moved to 6-3 overall and remained perfect in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play with a 4-0 record as four Cavaliers finished in double figures in scoring, including a pair of career-bests.
 
St. Andrews (3-3, 2-3 AAC) began the contest by scoring the first seven points and nine of the initial 10 to lead 9-1 in the first quarter. Despite a slow start from the field (0-9 FG), Montreat immediately answered. Virginia Edmondson connected on a triple for the team's first bucket with 3:20 remaining which kickstarted a 15-0 run that saw four different Cavaliers contribute. The Cavs concluded the frame with the 15-point stretch to go up 16-9 through 10 minutes.
 
Montreat then utilized another impressive span in the second quarter to grow its edge to as many as 20. Though SAU kept pace with the home side and trimmed its deficit to just six points (24-18) midway through the period, the Cavaliers rattled off 13 straight points thanks to eight consecutive makes from the field that brought the score to 37-18. The 13-0 run featured three of the team's five 3-point makes in the quarter as the Cavs went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc in the frame, including a pair of triples from Adrianna Gullette.
 
Gullette, who scored 11 points in the second period alone, led all players with 16 at the break. The Cavaliers went into the locker room up 42-24 due to a 10-for-15 performance from the field in the second, which helped raise their shooting percentage to 46.9 percent (15-32 FG) through two frames. Meanwhile, SAU shot 32.3 percent (10-31 FG) overall and made just one three on eight attempts (12.5 percent). Edmondson and Grace Rinaldo each contributed eight points, while the Cavaliers utilized 3-point shooting (6-13 3-pt FG), 11 assists, eight forced turnovers and seven steals to build their 18-point advantage at the half.
 
The visitors cut into the gap at the beginning of the third quarter. Using a 13-2 run, St. Andrews trimmed its deficit to just seven (44-37) with 3:48 left in the frame. Despite the span from SAU, Montreat responded with a three from Aebri Graham to extend the lead to double digits once more. Graham then powered an 8-0 spurt as she knocked down a pair of triples that sandwiched a Rinaldo field goal to bring the score to 59-42. Ultimately Graham's nine third-period points helped the Cavs hold a 15-point edge (59-44) with 10 minutes to play.
 
A pair of St. Andrews runs of six and seven consecutive points, respectively, slashed the large lead to just seven points with 4:27 on the clock; however, the Cavaliers kept producing efficiently on the offensive end of the court to keep the Knights at bay. Edmondson poured in five points during a 7-0 stretch, while Gullette, who notched nine more points in the last frame, scored the squad's final four points of the game. Gullette ended with a career-high 29 points to captain all athletes in the 13-point victory, while Edmondson added 17 to go with her six rebounds, six assists and as many steals, all three of which were team-bests.
 
Rinaldo and Graham accounted for the other six of the Cavaliers' 22 fourth-quarter points as the duo also ended in double figures. Rinaldo tallied a career-high 14 points, and Graham also recorded a season-best 14 thanks to four 3-point makes. Seven different Montreat players concluded with at least three rebounds and six assisted on multiple baskets.
 
"This was a great conference win for us," noted head coach Josh Thompson. "We had a slow start to the game, but we got through it and played tough the rest of the way."
 
Overall, the Cavs held off a charging St. Andrews team by draining nearly 50 percent of their shots (29-59 FG; 49.2 percent) and 43.5 percent of their 3-point tries (10-23 3-pt FG). The visitors connected on 41.0 percent of their looks (25-61 FG), including a 9-for-22 effort (40.9 percent) from deep.
 
Women's basketball looks to extend its win streak when the Cavaliers travel to Georgia for a conference matchup against the Truett McConnell University Bears. Tipoff in Cleveland, Ga. is expected at 2 p.m.