MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team hosted the Salem College Spirits in a non-conference matchup Saturday afternoon. With a lopsided 89-41 victory, the Cavaliers improved to 7-6 on the season and snapped their 3-game losing streak in the process.
 
Though Salem (5-4) jumped out to a 6-0 advantage in the first two minutes, the Cavs bounced back from their 0-7 start from the field in a major way. Montreat forced eight first-quarter mistakes en route to a 12-2 edge in points off turnovers to kickstart a run. The Cavaliers utilized a 19-2 stretch and 16 points from Virginia Edmondson to lead 26-11 through 10 minutes.
 
In the second frame, the home side continued to dominate, creating 10 additional Spirit turnovers. Salem failed to score for a span of 6:30 in the period, while Rymiah Sanders poured in five points to expand the gap to 22 (35-13). Ultimately, another 8-0 run brought the score to 45-18 at the half.
 
Edmondson led all players with 21 points at the break due to five makes from beyond the arc. Sanders and Grace Rinaldo each added nine points, and Triniti Lockhart captained all athletes with six rebounds. The Cavaliers forced 18 turnovers and committed only four, grabbing a 20-point advantage (22-2) in points off miscues.
 
Montreat outscored Salem 26-11 in the third frame as nine different Cavs scored, and an 11-0 stretch aided the home team out to a 61-20 edge three minutes into the quarter. In a back-and-forth later portion of the period, the Cavaliers held the Spirits to just three makes from the field and pushed their lead out to 42 (71-29) with 10 minutes to play.
 
The Cavs extended the advantage to 51 points with 5:37 remaining, marking their largest lead of the contest. Chesnee Freeman notched five quick points, while Alaina McPherson added a fastbreak score and Cierra Lail capped off the run with an and-one. After Montreat kept the visitors to one field goal over a 10-minute span, the Cavaliers cruised to the 48-point win.
 
Edmondson finished with game-highs in points (23), assists (6) and steals (5). Sanders followed with 15 points, Rinaldo concluded with 11 and Freeman scored 11 in 13 minutes. Every Cav who saw the court registered a rebound led by Lail who grabbed a career-best 11 boards in just 12 minutes. Aebri Graham (4), Lockhart (3) and Katie Alexander (3) each tallied multiple steals, while Alexander (5), Lockhart (4) and Ania Sands (3) recorded multiple assists.
 
Overall, the Cavaliers shot 44.3 percent (35-79 FG) compared to Salem's 26.9 percent (14-52 FG). Montreat also held an edge in 3-point shooting by making 30.0 percent (9-30 3-pt FG) to the Spirits' 25.0 percent (4-16 3-pt FG). In the end, the Cavs notched more rebounds (50-39), assists (22-8), steals (21-8) and forced more turnovers (32-17) than their counterparts as the team scored its most points this season.
 
Women's basketball returns to conference play when the Cavs travel to Barbourville, Ky. to battle the Union College Bulldogs on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.