BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— In an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) battle at Pulliam Stadium Wednesday evening, the Montreat women's lacrosse team dominated the Brenau University Golden Tigers, defeating its opposition 23-2. With the triumph, the Cavaliers improved to 6-5 overall and 3-3 in AAC play.
 
The Cavs stormed out of the gate as Aleea Bone and Kate Gauntlett combined for two goals each to give the hosts a 4-0 lead midway through the initial quarter. Brenau (1-7, 1-5 AAC) scored with 4:37 on the clock; however, Bone quickly completed her hat trick before Gauntlett did the same to stretch the edge to five. Bone registered another two tallies and Hannah Jarboe added her 10^th goal of the season to expand the Cavalier advantage to 9-1 through 15 minutes.
 
Gauntlett made it 10-1 shortly into the second frame, and, though the Golden Tigers notched their second goal of the game, three consecutive strikes from Mina Hicks followed by Gauntlett's final score of the half resulted in a 14-2 lead at the break.
 
Gauntlett and Bone each scored five goals to captain the offense and Gauntlett recorded five assists to cap off her 10-point first half. Hicks also ended the opening 30 minutes with a hat trick and an assist. Kierra Stephens made three stops in net to hold BU to just two scores through the first and second quarters.
 
Due to the large lead, Montreat held sizable advantages in most statistical categories at the break. The Cavaliers outshot the Golden Tigers 21-9 in total attempts and 16-5 in shots on target. Dovie Yates (5) and Gauntlett (4) helped the home side to an 11-8 edge in draw controls, while the Cavs registered eight successful clears to Brenau's five.
 
The Cavaliers continued the onslaught in the second half, outscoring their opposition 9-0 and scoring 13 straight goals overall. In the third period, Montreat struck six times. Bone started the frame with a pair of goals before Grace Wiegand tallied her first career goal to make it 17-2 with 8:49 remaining in the quarter. Wiegand doubled her goal total just 1:48 later, while McKinley Edmondson and Hicks polished off the scoring in the third as the home side led 20-2 with 15 minutes left.
 
Edmondson scored only 37 seconds into the final frame and newcomer Wonhui Choi netted her first career goal with 11:33 on the clock to extend the Cavaliers' edge to 20. Sydney Chivers polished off the scoring as eight different Cavs found the back of the net and nine contributed on scoring plays.
 
In the end, Montreat dominated in shots (35-14), shots on target (27-7) and clears (12-6). The Cavaliers also held a distinct advantage in draw controls (18-10) and converted on all six of their free position attempts.
 
Bone led all players with seven goals, while Gauntlett amassed a game-best 12 points thanks to her five goals and seven assists. Hicks (4G, 2A) and Wiegand (2G) both recorded multi-goal efforts and Yates ended the contest as the other Montreat player with multiple helpers. Yates led all players with nine draw controls in the victory; Stephens blocked five shots for her sixth win of the season.
 
Women's lacrosse concludes its regular-season slate with a senior-day matchup against St. Andrews University on Saturday. Opening draw control in Black Mountain, N.C. is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.