LAURINBURG, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team collected its second consecutive win Wednesday night when it traveled to Laurinburg, N.C. for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) battle at St. Andrews University. Behind a 74-38 victory in which they never trailed, the Cavaliers swept the season series versus the Knights and improved to 9-7 (6-4 AAC) on the year.
 
Defense paved the way for Montreat early in the first quarter as the Cavs held the hosts scoreless during the opening 3:42, while also limiting the Knights to just one make from the floor across their initial 10 shot attempts. Meanwhile, the visitors poured in the game's first seven points, and they ultimately scored 17 of the contest's initial 19 points to build a 17-2 lead over 8:03 into the matchup. SAU managed to finish the frame on a 7-0 run, but six different Cavaliers combined for a 17-9 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
 
St. Andrews (3-10, 2-10 AAC) extended its run to 10-0 with a 3-point make on its opening possession of the second quarter; however, the Knights registered just one bucket across the rest of the frame. Montreat's defense stepped up once again, holding the home side to just six points in the second period. On the other hand, Vaniyah Petty and Virginia Edmondson had no issue scoring. Petty poured in nine points, and Edmondson contributed seven of her own as the pair combined for all 16 of Montreat's points in the second quarter. As a result, the visitors entered the intermission with their largest lead of the half, 33-15.
 
Holding SAU to just 14.3 percent (4-28 FG) shooting played a massive role in Montreat establishing its 18-point halftime advantage. The Cavs connected on 34.2 percent (13-38 FG) of their shot attempts, and they relied on significant edges in rebounding (27-20), points in the paint (22-4) and points off turnovers (7-0) to create the chasm on the scoreboard. Montreat also corralled 11 offensive boards, which translated to 14 second-chance points. Petty played a sizable role in those numbers as she totaled 12 points and nine rebounds during the first half.
 
A trio of triples, two from Aebri Graham and one from Edmondson, vaulted the Cavaliers out to a 42-19 lead four minutes into the third frame. Cierra Lail, Petty and Grace Rinaldo each added baskets around the rim as part of a 16-5 stretch that saw the visiting team maintain its large lead. St. Andrews scored the final six points of the quarter, but Montreat still held firmly to a 49-26 edge with 10 minutes to go.
 
Despite the large gap between the two sides, the Cavs weren't content to sit back and allow the Knights to gain momentum. Petty and Edmondson teamed up for all 12 points during a 12-2 span in which the visitors went up by 31 (61-30). Then, with the game out of reach, Cavalier newcomer Madison Cole made her first appearance in a Montreat uniform. Six quick points for the freshman from Gastonia, N.C. helped the away side seize its largest lead of the night (74-36) and eventual 36-point triumph.
 
"Great road win for us tonight," said head coach Josh Thompson. "I was very happy with our defense and our rebounding in this game. Vaniyah had a huge game for us with the double-double, too."
 
Montreat upped its overall shooting percentage to 41.7 (30-72 FG) while also limiting the hosts to just 19.0 percent from the field (11-58 FG). The Cavs concluded the evening with impressive advantages in rebounding (51-40), assists (14-4), second-chance points (16-2), points in the paint (42-14) and bench points (19-1).
 
Petty racked up 19 points and 19 rebounds, both career highs, for her first double-double of the season. Edmondson also poured in 19 points, and Lail hauled in 10 boards. Both Rymiah Sanders and Edmondson dished out four assists in the win.
 
The Montreat women's basketball team starts a 4-game homestand on Saturday when it plays host to the Columbia International University Rams. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside McAlister Gymnasium.