CHARLOTTE, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team traveled to Charlotte, N.C. for a non-conference contest against the Johnson & Wales University – Charlotte Wildcats Saturday afternoon. After leading into the second quarter but trailing by as many as 11 down the stretch, the Cavaliers almost completed a comeback; however, the visitors fell 73-71 to drop to 0-3 for the 2023-24 campaign.
Though Johnson & Wales (1-0) scored nine straight points to lead 9-2 just 2:19 into the contest, the Cavs answered over the remainder of the opening quarter. Trailing 15-7 with 5:29 remaining in the first,
Rymiah Sanders poured in 10 points during a 16-2 run that saw Montreat take a 23-18 lead over the Wildcats through 10 minutes. In the frame, the Cavaliers hit nine of their 17 looks from the field to shoot 52.9 percent.
In a low-scoring second period, the Cavs held an advantage until 2:18 left on the clock. Neither team tallied points for a 4-minute stretch in the quarter, but a Montreat scoring drought of 6:51 allowed the home side to grab a 31-30 edge heading into the intermission thanks to outscoring the Cavaliers 13-7 in the second.
Despite buckets from
Adrianna Gullette,
Virginia Edmondson and Sanders in the initial portion of the third quarter, JWU slowly increased its advantage out to eight (49-41) following back-to-back baskets with under four minutes to go in the frame. Although Sanders trimmed the gap to four, the Cavs went into the final period down 54-47.
The Wildcats immediately extended their edge to double-digits, leading 60-49 with 7:54 on the clock. Needing another run to earn the team's first victory of the season, Montreat chipped away at the spread at the charity stripe. Gullette contributed with eight makes at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter alone, while Edmondson added five points in the same fashion. A 12-3 stretch over 3:05 brought the score from 69-59 to 72-71 with a mere six seconds left; however, the Cavaliers ran out of time in their 2-point defeat.
Gullette, who went 15-for-19 at the free-throw line, concluded with a game-best 23 points. Sanders knocked down nine of her 15 attempts from the field to end with 21 points, while Edmondson drained two of the squad's four 3-point makes (2-9 3-pt FG) to finish with 18 points. The trio of Gullette, Sanders and Edmondson combined for 62 of the Cavaliers' 71 points and 17 of the Cavs' 20 made shots.
Overall, Johnson & Wales held advantages in most statistical categories, outshooting Montreat 45.2 percent to 36.4 percent and 31.6 percent to 13.8 percent from deep. The Wildcats snatched more rebounds (42-37), collected more points off turnovers (19-14) and scored more second-chance points (17-7). In the end, the Cavaliers tallied more points in the paint (32-28), created more steals (9-5) and committed fewer turnovers (17-14) than their counterparts.
Women's basketball now opens conference play with a matchup on the road at Tennessee Wesleyan University on Wednesday. Tipoff in Athens, Tenn. is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
