GAINESVILLE, Ga.— The Montreat women's basketball team rebounded from its last contest when the Cavaliers faced the Brenau University Golden Tigers in Georgia Wednesday night. At the final buzzer, the Cavs came away with a 75-61 victory to improve to 16-8 overall and 13-5 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) action.
 
Brenau (9-11, 8-10 AAC) tallied seven of the initial nine points of the matchup; however, four points from Rymiah Sanders helped the Cavs knot the score at nine four minutes in. Though the Golden Tigers then led 14-9, nine straight points from the visitors, including six consecutive from Madison Cole, put Montreat up 18-14. Through a high-scoring opening 10 minutes, the Cavaliers held a 19-17 advantage.
 
Back-to-back triples from the home side resulted in a lead change as BU grabbed a 23-22 edge, but another 9-0 run over just 1:15 vaulted the Cavs ahead 31-23 midway into the second frame. The Cavaliers extended their advantage to as many as nine points (35-26), but the Golden Tigers trimmed the gap down to 37-32 at the break.
 
Virginia Edmondson captained Montreat with 11 points, while Cole registered a team-high five rebounds in the first half. After two periods, the Cavs led in overall shooting (16-33 FG; 48.5 percent) and rebounding (21-15), while Brenau made six of nine 3-point attempts (66.7 percent) to keep the competition close heading into the second half.
 
As defense slowed offensive production during the initial portion of the third frame, scoring became more vital. Vaniyah Petty connected on a trio of baskets as the Shelby, N.C. native poured in six early points in the quarter. The Golden Tigers cut their deficit to just one, but Petty, who scored the Cavaliers' first 11 points of the period, kept the visitors up 52-48 with one quarter remaining.
 
Montreat notched the initial five points of the fourth to lead 57-48; however, BU responded to trim the edge to only four 3:14 into the final frame. Edmondson then assisted the Cavaliers in putting the contest away. After Petty secured her second double-double of the year with her 10^th rebound of the matchup, Edmondson recorded 10 of the Cavs' points during a 13-4 stretch that saw the visitors establish a 70-57 lead with 3:08 to go. From there, the Cavaliers sealed their 14-point road triumph as the team outscored Brenau 23-13 in the fourth.
 
"This was a great road win for us. Brenau is a tough team and it was a hard battle. Vaniyah and Virginia really stepped up and played big for us tonight," said head coach Josh Thompson.
 
Edmondson's 13 fourth-quarter points meant the Goldsboro, N.C. native captained all players with 24. Petty finished with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with her game-high 12 boards. Sanders (10 points) concluded as the last of the three Montreat athletes in double figures in scoring.
 
Overall, the Cavs shot more efficiently than their counterparts, knocking down 28 of 62 field goals (45.2 percent) to Brenau's mere 34.5 percent (19-55 FG). Montreat also held advantages in total rebounds (46-31), offensive rebounds (17-10) and points off turnovers (19-14).
 
Women's basketball returns to McAlister Gymnasium for an AAC battle against Bryan on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.