CHARLOTTE, N.C.— The Montreat women's basketball team squeezed one final nonconference game into its regular season schedule Monday evening when it traveled to Charlotte, N.C. for a contest versus the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats. Falling on the wrong side of a 74-62 final, the Cavaliers dropped to 16-10 on the year.
 
Maddie Ferrara scored Montreat's initial six points, but an 8-0 run followed by a 7-1 spurt gave JWU Charlotte (14-10) the 17-9 advantage midway through the first quarter. Virginia Edmondson and Chesnee Freeman helped close the gap with makes from beyond the arc, but the Wildcats still maintained a 21-17 lead after 10 minutes of action.
 
Ferrara, who made her first six shots of the evening, poured in the Cavs' initial eight points of the second frame. Cierra Lail and Karis Alexander then added baskets down low to keep the visitors within striking distance at 32-29 with less than three minutes remaining in the quarter; however, the hosts closed out the half on a 12-2 run, and they entered the break with their largest lead up to that moment. Despite Ferrara's 15 points, JWU Charlotte led 44-31 at the intermission.
 
Montreat's first five points of the third quarter came from the free-throw line. The visitors didn't connect on a shot from the field until there was 4:18 remaining in the frame. As a result, the Wildcats extended their edge out to 55-36. Ferrara buried a 3-pointer, and Rymiah Sanders drained a pair of buckets to cap off a swift 7-0 span in favor of the Cavaliers. Johnson & Wales answered with a triple of its own, though, and the home side held a 58-43 lead with just 10 minutes left.
 
The Wildcats matched their largest lead of the night at 19 points (64-45) midway through the final quarter of action. Refusing to give up, the Cavaliers later made one final push, rattling off a 10-0 run that featured points from five different players. Montreat suddenly had life down 66-58 with 1:40 to go, but the visitors couldn't draw any closer. JWU Charlotte sealed the matchup at the free throw line, and it closed out a 74-62 victory.
 
Overall, the hosts concluded the night with fewer turnovers (34-28), while Montreat ended with slightly more rebounds (42-40). JWU Charlotte shot better than its counterpart, going 24-for-58 overall (41.4 percent) and 6-for-16 from deep (37.5 percent) compared to the visitors' 35.1 percent overall showing (20-57 FG) and 28.0 percent effort from beyond the arc (7-25 3-pt FG). Both teams shot 55.6 percent at the charity stripe, but the Wildcats attempted nine more free throws (36-27).
 
Ferrara paced all scorers with 22 points, while Alexander joined her in double figures with 10 points. Alexander and Edmondson tied for a team-high with seven rebounds, and Ania Sands led all players with five assists. Edmondson and Ayanna Varela each notched four steals.
 
Montreat resumes Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play on Wednesday with a road matchup at St. Andrews University. Due to inclement weather, tipoff is now slated for 3 p.m. in Laurinburg, N.C.