LAURINBURG, N.C.— Needing a win in one of its final two games to clinch a berth into the quarterfinal round of next week's Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament, the Montreat women's basketball team traveled to Laurinburg, N.C. on Wednesday for a league matchup with the St. Andrews University Knights. Coming up just a little bit short on the road, the Cavaliers fell to 16-11 (13-8 AAC) as they suffered a narrow 72-68 defeat.
 
The first half proved to be tightly contested as neither side led by more than two possessions at any point. A pair of Ayanna Varela baskets put the away team on top, 8-7, with roughly four minutes remaining in the initial quarter, but St. Andrews (11-17, 7-14 AAC) answered with a 9-2 run to seize the largest lead of the half at 16-10. Katie Alexander and Rymiah Sanders scored late in the opening frame to trim Montreat's deficit to 16-14 by the quarter's conclusion.
 
No more than three points separated the two teams throughout the entirety of the second period. Virginia Edmondson poured in six points during the quarter to put her squad on top, 24-23. Grace Rinaldo and Sanders added buckets down the stretch, too, ensuring the Cavs and Knights entered the intermission level at 28-28.
 
The hosts grabbed the largest lead of the afternoon midway through the third quarter as they moved in front, 41-34. Montreat mustered a response, though. Edmondson and Maddie Ferrara buried the Cavaliers' initial two triples of the contest, and Karis Alexander and Cierra Lail connected on the squad's first two free throws. As a result, the visitors trailed by just two points (47-45) with 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Ferrara sank a jumper two minutes into the final quarter of action, handing the Cavs their largest lead of the day, 51-49. That basket proved to be the first of eight lead changes in the fourth. Montreat's last lead came via an Edmondson and-one with 4:45 to go, but the Knights countered with a make from beyond the arc and a three-point play of their own. From there, St. Andrews never relinquished its edge. The Cavaliers had a chance to tie or take the lead late, but a turnover and an offensive rebound off a missed free throw sealed the matchup in favor of the home team, 72-68.
 
The visitors had the better overall shooting percentage, going 28-for-61 (45.9 percent) compared to the Knights' 22-for-51 effort (43.1 percent); however, St. Andrews attempted 20 more free throws than Montreat (33-13), and it was more efficient from deep by shooting 38.9 percent (7-18 3-pt FG) compared to the Cavs' 19.0 percent clip (4-21 3-pt FG). Both teams committed 19 turnovers, but SAU registered more points off those miscues (23-14). Meanwhile, the Cavaliers won the rebounding battle (35-29) and recorded more points in the paint (34-22).
 
Edmondson led all players with 25 points, and both she and Katie Alexander notched a game-high five steals. Alexander finished the afternoon with eight points, nine rebounds and five assists. Sanders totaled 10 points as the only other Cav to end in double figures in scoring.
 
Montreat concludes the regular season on Saturday with an AAC clash at Kentucky Christian University. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Grayson, Ky.

***Update: Montreat clinched an AAC Tournament first round bye following Tennessee Wesleyan University's loss to Milligan University Wednesday night. The Cavaliers will either be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in next week's conference tournament.