MILLIGAN, Tenn.— The Montreat women's basketball team traveled to the state of Tennessee Wednesday evening for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) challenge against the Milligan University Buffaloes, a team receiving votes in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Playing against the current league leaders, the Cavaliers couldn't stop the hosts' high-powered offense as they dropped to 13-7 (10-5 AAC) following a 109-78 defeat.
 
A high-scoring initial quarter favored Milligan (16-6, 14-2 AAC) and its elite shooting. Karis Alexander and Grace Rinaldo had the Cavs up 5-2 just a minute into the matchup, but the Buffaloes responded with a 14-0 spurt over the ensuing three minutes to seize a 16-5 advantage. Katie Alexander, who led Montreat with eight points in the frame, drained back-to-back attempts from beyond the arc, and the visitors shot 9-of-17 overall (52.9 percent) in the period; however, MU went 12-for-15 from the field (80.0 percent) as it maintained a 33-24 edge through one quarter of play.
 
Montreat cooled off in the second quarter, but Milligan did not. The Buffs opened the frame with an 18-1 run, and they closed the period with a 9-0 stretch. Maddie Ferrara poured in all five of the Cavaliers' points in the quarter, and the hosts took a 65-29 lead into halftime.
 
The Cavs got the better of the Buffaloes in the third thanks in large part to Ferrara. While five different Cavaliers scored during the first six minutes of the quarter, Ferrara did the heavy lifting across the final 3:15. The Hendersonville, Tenn. native proved responsible for a stretch of 13 Montreat points, and the visitors outscored their counterparts across the 10-minute frame, 31-24. Despite the Cavs shooting 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) in the period, MU still led by 29 points (89-70) when the fourth quarter began.
 
Ferrara and Carolina Robinson got Montreat started in the final frame, but a 9-0 Milligan run halted any momentum and erased any hopes of a remarkable comeback. The fourth was tightly contested, but the Buffs ultimately won the game, 109-78.

"Milligan is a really solid team, and unfortunately, we didn't have many who stepped up to the plate, aside from Maddie Ferrara," said head coach Jamie Moore. "Confidence comes from reps, and Maddie has been getting lots of reps this week in our newly renovated gym. I think Milligan's hot start threw many players on our team off their game, and we couldn't recover."
 
Milligan shot 63.3 percent on the night (38-60 FG), including 54.2 percent from deep (13-24 3-pt FG) and 87.0 percent at the line (20-23 FT). Meanwhile, Montreat went 31-for-70 from the floor (44.3 percent), 8-for-24 from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 8-of-11 at the charity stripe (72.7 percent). The Buffaloes totaled more points off turnovers (35-14), registered more rebounds (33-29) and committed fewer fouls (20-11) and turnovers (17-13) than the Cavaliers.
 
Ferrara led all players with a career-high 28 points, and she tied Katie Alexander for a game-best with four assists. Karis Alexander paced the squad with five boards to go along with her 13 points.
 
Off this weekend, Montreat heads next to Barbourville, Ky. on Monday for a rescheduled matchup with the Union Commonwealth University Bulldogs. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.