Box Score WALESKA, Ga.— In the first round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament in Georgia Thursday afternoon, the Montreat women's lacrosse team fell to the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs by a final score of 20-8. As the fourth-seeded Cavaliers dropped their matchup with the fifth-seeded Bulldogs, the Cavs concluded their season with a 7-6 record.
 
TWU (4-10) got on the scoresheet first, but Montreat responded quickly thanks to tallies from Izzy Knight and Dovie Yates to capture a 2-1 advantage in a high-scoring first period. The Bulldogs answered to go up 3-2; however, Mina Hicks netted a game-tying goal to even the score at three.
 
Despite another tally from Hicks that gave the Cavaliers their fourth of the contest, Tennessee Wesleyan went on a 3-0 run to lead 6-4 after 15 minutes of action.
 
TWU and Aleea Bone traded goals to start the second, but the Bulldogs took over from there. The No. 5 seed put home the ensuing seven scores of the second quarter to extend its edge to nine (14-5) at the break as it outscored Montreat 8-1 in the frame.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan added the first two goals of the latter half, the only ones of the third period, to expand its advantage to double digits (16-5) before Bone cut into the deficit with her second of the competition toward the beginning of the final frame.
 
Three TWU goals brought the Bulldogs' lead to their largest of the matchup (19-6) prior to two responses by the fourth-seeded Cavaliers. Montreat then used goals from Bone, who registered her hat trick, and Yates, who scored her second of the game to pull the Cavs within 12. Though the Cavaliers scored a trio of goals in the fourth, Montreat ran out of time and fell by the 20-8 scoreline.
 
Overall, the Bulldogs got the better of the Cavaliers in a couple of statistical categories, leading shot attempts (41-23) and shots on goal (33-19), but most other areas were fairly even. Montreat won 15 of the 28 draw controls and caused 13 turnovers to TWU's 10, while both teams committed 14 turnovers. The Cavs capitalized on six of their seven free position attempts compared to Tennessee Wesleyan's mere 2-for-6 performance on free position shots. In net, Kierra Stephens saved 14 shots, notching a .424 save percentage in defeat.
 
Women's lacrosse now looks forward to the 2024 season after bowing out of this year's conference tournament.