The Montreat College women's basketball team continued a strong season by earning a 49-46 home win on Wednesday, January 13 against a Bryan College squad that entered the game ranked 25th in the NAIA poll.  The victory evened the Cavaliers' record at 3-3 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference and raised their record to 12-4 overall.  

Head Coach Craig Jackson wanted to see energy and effort from his team from the opening tip, and the Cavaliers responded by racing to a 10-2 lead.  "We never looked back," Jackson said of the wire-to-wire victory.  

Whitney Boone, a senior forward from Mitchell High School in Bakersville, N.C., led the Cavaliers with 17 points and also snared five rebounds.  Alicia Wallace and Anjelica Jackson each contributed eight points in a low-scoring contest.  

In fact, defenses ruled the game: Montreat had scored at least 62 points in 13 straights games while Bryan's 46 points represented its lowest output of the season.  Praising a stalwart defensive effort, Jackson noted that the Cavaliers were the first opponent all season to win the rebounding battle against the hard-working Lions.

Jackson saw the win as vital as the Cavaliers played their second of nine consecutive conference games.  With the AAC standings bunched as they are - three teams share the league lead at 4-2 and three more stand at 3-3 - a few points scored here and a few denied there can go far toward determining a team's position in the AAC conference tournament in February.