Women's Basketball Falls to Montreat

ATHENS, Tenn.- The women's basketball team played their first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) game on Wednesday. The team hosted the Montreat College Lady Cavaliers at James L. Robb Gymnasium.

Points from Mikalee Martin and Jaci Powell helped the Lady Bulldogs lead 5-4 midway through the first quarter. Ella Crowder added a free throw to the score before a 9-0 run by Montreat gave the opponents a 13-6 lead. Abbey Barr broke the scoreless streak with a layup but the visitors went into the second quarter leading 16-9. 

Jacelyn Stone put the team on the board in the second quarter with a three-point play making the score 18-12. Stone and Anna Crowder each scored over the next few minutes to cut the deficit down to two points. Montreat kept control of the lead though, outscoring TWU 11-1 to put the team in a double-digit hole with the score reading 30-17. Ashley Baxter made a layup that made the halftime score 30-19 in favor of the visitors. 

The opening minutes of the second half saw the teams exchanging baskets. Stone, Martin, and Powell all scored as they tried to cut down the opponents' lead. With 1:36 remaining in the third quarter, Powell's three-point jumper cut the deficit down to six points as the scoreboard read 41-35. Tennessee Wesleyan did not pull closer in this instance though as Montreat took a 44-35 advantage into the fourth quarter. 

Powell, Sierra Bates, and A. Crowder helped the team battle back to within six points of the lead again. The team could not find the offense needed to pull ahead of the Lady Cavaliers over the remaining time, going on to fall in the game by a score of 54-44.

Powell led the offense with 13 points while Stone added 10 points. Bates and A. Crowder tied for the team lead with seven rebounds each.

TWU (1-1, 0-1 AAC) will play their third consecutive game at home on Saturday. The team will host Columbia College in a conference game. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m.