WILLIAMSBURG, Ky.— Playing in the first round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament hosted by the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky., the No. 3 seed Montreat women's lacrosse team ousted the No. 6 seed Truett McConnell University Bears Thursday afternoon. With the Cavaliers' 18-15 victory, Montreat improved to a 7-7 record on the season and notched its fourth consecutive win.
 
Hannah Jarboe opened the scoring just 45 seconds in, but Truett McConnell (3-12) responded with three straight to go up 3-1 within four minutes. A trio of different goal scorers for the Cavs in Madison Terrell, Kate Gauntlett and Jarboe then flipped momentum again in a high-scoring first frame. The duo of Terrell and Grace Wiegand made it six of seven for the Cavaliers, who led 6-4 with 5:57 remaining in the initial period. Montreat and TMU traded strikes as the No. 3 seed held an 8-7 advantage through 15 minutes thanks to two goals from four separate players.
 
After combining for 15 goals in the first quarter, the offense slowed in the second frame. TMU knotted the game at eight, but Wiegand and Gauntlett handed the Cavaliers a 10-8 edge with 5:44 left on the clock. The Bears closed the half with three consecutive goals to go up 11-10 at the break.
 
Through 30 minutes, the Cavs totaled more shots (19-18) and shots on goal (17-13) thanks to a 15-8 edge in draw controls; however, Truett McConnell used three more ground balls (10-7) and six more caused turnovers (7-1) to lead by one on the scoreboard.
 
Ruthann Stout made a trio of saves in quick succession to propel Montreat to its largest advantage to that point. Outscoring the Bears 6-2, the Cavaliers utilized a pair of tallies from Wiegand, Jarboe and Terrell to hold a 16-13 edge over TMU with 15 minutes left in the game. Stout stopped five opposing shots on target during the period.
 
Within the opening minutes of the fourth, Gauntlett grew the Cavs' lead to four (17-13), and, although Truett McConnell collected two goals to trim the gap to two, Montreat claimed its 3-goal triumph due to Terrell's final strike with 20 seconds remaining.
 
In the end, the Cavaliers narrowly outshot the Bears 35-34, 29-23 on goal, and recorded a 21-14 advantage in draw controls. TMU edged the Cavs in ground balls (18-17), opposing team turnovers (21-16) and caused turnovers (10-5).
 
Individually, Terrell and Wiegand each netted five goals, while Jarboe and Gauntlett both collected four. Gauntlett added a game-high five assists to conclude with nine points, Terrell contributed a pair of helpers and Wiegand and Jarboe each notched one assist. Jarboe and McKinley Edmondson both scooped four ground balls and Wiegand captained all players with nine draw controls. After making six second-half saves in net, Stout finished with eight to pick up her third win of the season.
 
Women's lacrosse now faces the hosts, the No. 2 seed and No. 2 team in the nation, tomorrow at 3 p.m.