ASHEVILLE, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team wrapped up the 2024 portion of its schedule when it hosted the Johnson & Wales University Charlotte Wildcats inside Kimmel Arena on Saturday. Utilizing a multitude of turnovers and converting them into points, the Cavaliers had no trouble sprinting past the visitors to the tune of an 85-50 win. With the victory, the hosts improved to 8-4 on the year.
 
Both teams scored a lot of points despite struggling with turnovers during the initial quarter. Montreat outscored Johnson & Wales (7-4) in the frame, 28-20, and each side coughed the ball up 10 times. Rymiah Sanders and Virginia Edmondson did the heavy lifting offensively, notching 10 and eight points, respectively. The Cavs poured in the game's first nine points, and they never relinquished that lead during the quarter.
 
The hosts put the game out of reach thanks to dominant second and third quarter efforts. Across those 20 minutes, the Cavaliers outpaced their opponents by 26 points (42-16). Defensively, Montreat surrendered just five points while once again forcing 10 turnovers during the second frame. JWU Charlotte shot just 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) in the period, and the Cavs capitalized by taking a 42-25 advantage into the halftime break.
 
Montreat scored 28 points in a quarter twice on Saturday, including during the third frame. Eight different Cavs tallied at least a point as the squad ballooned its edge out to 70-36 before the period's end. Katie Alexander buried a pair of looks from deep to open the quarter, and the hosts continued to roll from there.
 
For the second straight contest, the Cavaliers outscored their opponents in each of the four periods. While the fourth frame proved to be more competitive, Ayanna Varela's seven points and Maddie Ferrara's five points ensured that Montreat ran its consecutive quarters won streak to 11. The Cavs led by as many as 39 points (84-45) during the fourth as they wrapped up their third successive victory, 85-50.
 
"What better way to go into the break than with a big team win," said head coach Jamie Moore. "Everyone was able to contribute, and we were able to get some of our freshman lots of playing time in the hopes of gaining some confidence."
 
Montreat held the edge across the board when it came to shooting on Saturday. The hosts went 34-for-77 overall (44.2 percent), 7-for-27 from deep (25.9 percent) and 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) at the charity stripe. On the other side, the Wildcats shot 32.8 percent from the floor (19-58 FG), 6.3 percent from beyond the arc (1-16 3-pt FG) and 50.0 percent at the line (11-22 FT). The Cavaliers also owned the advantage in turnovers forced (33-25), assists (22-12), rebounds (50-37), points in the paint (50-26), points off turnovers (40-6) and fast break points (32-12).
 
Sanders led all players with 18 points, while Edmondson (17 points) and Varela (career-high 14 points) scored in double figures as well. Carolina Robinson grabbed a game-high seven boards, and Alexander fell one point and one assist shy of a double-double thanks to her nine points and nine helpers. In total, 11 different Cavs scored on the night, and all 12 who played hauled in at least one rebound.
 
Breaking for Christmas, the Montreat women's basketball team next takes the court on Jan. 2 when it heads to Cullowhee, N.C. for an exhibition at Western Carolina University. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.