MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat College women's basketball team fell to Tennessee Wesleyan University Thursday evening at McAlister Gymnasium in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup. Despite a strong 23-point third quarter, the Bulldogs capitalized on miscues, scoring 25 points off the Cavaliers' 21 turnovers to secure a 79-66 victory. With the result, Montreat dropped to 8-15 (6-11 AAC), while TWU improved to 9-13 (8-9 AAC).
The Cavaliers opened the first quarter by establishing a strong presence in the paint, with Ella Kate Walraven scoring early to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead. A key sequence saw Sarah Williams drain a 3-pointer roughly three minutes in, and Bayleigh Winkler converting an and-one opportunity a little over a minute later to propel the Cavs out to a six-point edge (9-3). Despite Tennessee Wesleyan's attempts to close the gap, the hosts maintained a 17-15 advantage heading into the second period.
Montreat came out determined to keep control, opening the second quarter with a Walraven layup to stretch the advantage to four. The Cavaliers continued to attack the paint effectively, but untimely turnovers shifted the momentum and allowed TWU to capitalize. Rymiah Sanders momentarily steadied the Cavs with a layup at the 6:35 mark, set up by Ayanna Varela, to briefly reclaim the lead (25-24). The Bulldogs stayed resilient, however, and answered with a barrage from beyond the arc, stringing together multiple triples to seize control. The visitors built a nine-point cushion late in the period, and they sent the Cavs into the halftime break trailing 39–32.
The Cavaliers rallied in the third frame with a significant late push, highlighted by Trinety Dajuste's 3-pointer with under two minutes left, which gave them their first lead of the half at 55-54. Despite a back-and-forth affair, the Cavs managed to outscore Tennessee Wesleyan 23-17 in the quarter, and they went into the final period trailing 56-55.
Montreat made one final push in the fourth, highlighted by Williams' clutch 3-pointer with 3:57 to go that trimmed the deficit to five (67-62). The visitors quickly answered, though, calmly converting free throws down the stretch to preserve their advantage. Despite the Cavaliers' late surge, they were unable to overcome the Bulldogs' steady offensive production. Ultimately, TWU secured a 79–66 victory.
On the night, the hosts shot 41.4 percent from the field (24-58 FG), 31.8 percent from the 3-point line (7-22 3-pt FG) and 84.6 percent from the charity stripe (11-13 FT). Defensively, the Cavs held TWU to 45.2 percent from the floor (29-62 FG), 26.9 percent from beyond the arc (7-26 3-pt FG) and 84.2 percent from the free-throw line (16-19 FT). The Bulldogs ended the contest with more rebounds (33-27), points in the paint (36-26) and points off turnovers (25-12).
Williams recorded a team-best 22 points, converting 8-of-15 field goals and making 4-of-9 shots from beyond the arc. Sanders added 15 points and contributed four rebounds, while also collecting two steals. Ania Sands facilitated the offense with six assists and scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting. Winkler posted nine points, making all three of her free throws and securing three rebounds.
The Cavaliers will look to bounce back on Saturday, Feb. 14, when they host Bluefield University as part of their senior day festivities inside McAlister Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m., with senior day recognition set to begin approximately 20 minutes prior to the game.
