Another bad third quarter dooms women's basketball at Montreat

BY TEODORA JOVIC
Communications Intern

MONTREAT, N.C. - The Union Bulldogs woman's basketball team traveled to Montreat College Saturday to face off against the Cavaliers, but a second consecutive poor third quarter turned a 30-25 halftime advantage into a 71-50 loss.

The Bulldogs started off the first quarter strong courtesy of a lay-up by Mckenzi Himes, who stayed strong throughout, scoring 23 points to tie her career-high. However, the rest of the quarter proved to be a tight contest, with both teams constantly tying on the leaderboard. A free throw by Madison Cox tied the score at 10. But a stunning 3-point jumper by Gracie Jervis secured a 19-14 lead for Union at the first quarter.

The second quarter provided quality play from both teams, especially on defense. Both teams scored 11 points in this tough quarter. A jump shot by LeAsia Linton handed the Bulldogs a 30-25 lead at the half, their second halftime lead in as many Appalachian Athletic Conference games.

But for the second game in a row, the third quarter proved tough for the Bulldogs.

The intensity dropped and they only managed to score seven points against a whooping 27 by the Cavaliers. This follows a 63-59 loss to Reinhardt Tuesday, where they were outscored 21-5 in a similar fashion in the third. This tough quarter put the Bulldogs down 52-37.

The fourth had the Bulldogs struggling to come back and regain composure. Himes excelled with consecutive layups and free throws. A 30-second timeout by Montreat sealed the deal with 02:44 on the clock, as after this two layups and a free throw by the Cavaliers handed them a 71-50 win.

The Bulldogs, who are now 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the AAC, travel to Johnson University for their next game on Thursday. Play starts at 5:30 pm.