COLUMBIA, S.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team extended its win streak to seven competitions as the Cavaliers went on the road to Columbia, S.C. for a matchup with the Columbia College Koalas Saturday afternoon. Thanks to a big third quarter, the Cavs flipped momentum in a 58-55 triumph, improving to a 14-7 (11-4 AAC) record for the 2023-24 season.
 
Columbia (9-12, 6-10 AAC) tallied the opening six points of the contest; however, scoring from six different Cavaliers powered a run that kept the matchup tight. After trailing 14-9 late in the frame, Madison Cole notched four points during a 6-0 stretch that saw the visitors grab a 15-14 advantage through 10 minutes.
 
The Koalas answered at the start of the second period, retaking their edge and extending it to four (19-15) with five straight points. Rymiah Sanders registered the first five Cav points of the quarter, pulling Montreat within one (21-20) midway into the frame, but CC responded by growing the gap out to four again. Despite four late points from Grace Rinaldo, the home side led 30-26 at the break.
 
Sanders captained the Cavaliers with seven points at halftime, while Rinaldo added six.
 
Coming out of halftime, Montreat utilized an impressive frame to turn the tides in the matchup. Sanders continued scoring with five quick points during a 6-0 run that leveled the score at 32 early in the second half. From there, Rinaldo poured in four points five minutes into the period to cap off a 10-2 run and hand the Cavs their first lead (36-34) since the initial quarter. Ultimately, the visitors outscored Columbia 15-6 in the third to go up 41-36 with 10 minutes remaining.
 
Virginia Edmondson hit a 3-pointer to give the Cavaliers their largest edge of the contest (44-36), but the home side forced turnovers and transition baskets to cut the lead to 48-46 with about five minutes left. Though the Koalas came within two points once more, three separate Cavs combined for a 7-2 run that put the game away.
 
"This was a great road win for us today. We battled hard and gutted out the win. I'm proud of how the team played together and fought through adversity today," mentioned head coach Josh Thompson.
 
Sanders led all players with 14 points, while Rinaldo and Edmondson each contributed 10 as a trio of Cavs finished in double figures in scoring. Katie Alexander grabbed a team-high six rebounds for Montreat. Overall, the Cavaliers shot 40.3 percent (25-62 FG) compared to Columbia's 35.8 percent (24-67 FG) and ended 27.3 percent (3-11 3-pt FG) from deep to CC's 24.0 percent (6-25 3-pt FG). The Cavs forced more turnovers (22-17); however, the Koalas maintained leads in rebounds (48-38), points off turnovers (24-12) and second-chance points (24-8) in the one possession ballgame.
 
Women's basketball plays its next contest in Columbia as well, facing the Columbia International University Rams on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.