Jamicia Davis (20) takes a contested jump shot during the Knights’ win over Montreat on Wednesday night at Harris Court. Davis had 16 points.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Ma’Nas Drummond (1) dribbles the ball up the court during the first half of the Knights’ loss to Montreat on Wednesday night at Harris Court. Drummond led the team in scoring with 34 points.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Kwashek Breeden (2) goes up for a shot in the paint while being defended by Jarden Maze (11).
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Katie Moore (30) defends Maddie Ferrara (14) on the perimeter.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG —The St. Andrews Knights women’s basketball team defeated the visiting Montreat College Cavaliers by a score of 72-68 on Wednesday night at Harris Court in the team’s final home game of the 2024-25 season. St. Andrews snaps a three-game losing streak and improves to 11-17 (7-14 in conference games) on the season with the victory while the Cavaliers see their losing streak hit four games and fall to 16-11 (13-8 against conference opponents). The Knights were able to split the season series with Montreat, avenging an 85-58 loss to them back on Dec. 4.
The game was about as evenly contested as could be with each quarter being decided by two points. St. Andrews took the first quarter 16-14, the third frame 19-17 and the final period 25-23 while the Cavaliers won the second quarter 14-12. The largest lead held by either team was seven while there were nine ties and 15 lead changes in the game.
The most important stretch of the contest came from the 4:42 mark of the fourth to the 3:07 mark, when St. Andrews scored six unanswered points to turn a 61-59 deficit into a 65-61 lead and never trailed again. After the Cavaliers had trimmed the margin down to one (69-68) with just 57 seconds left, the Knights would get the defensive stops they needed and ice the game on free throws from Londaisha Smith and Jamicia Davis.
Smith led St. Andrews in scoring with 22 points, grabbed four rebounds, had one assist, four steals and two blocks. Davis had 16 points, four rebounds, a team high five assists and four steals in the win. AJ Price had 14 points to give the team three double digit scorers.
St. Andrews had a couple of areas they held an advantage on the stat sheet. Those include three-point percentage (38.9%-19%), free throw percentage (63.6%-61.5%), points off turnovers (23-14) and second chance points (12-6).
The Knights will wrap up their 2024-25 season on the road Saturday afternoon against the Bluefield University Rams, a team they previously beat 75-64 back on Jan. 18. Tipoff is scheduled for noon.
Men fall in OT to Montreat
The Knights were defeated by the Cavaliers in a 103-97 final on Wednesday night at Harris Court. St. Andrews falls to 3-19 (2-17 against AAC opponents) on the season with their ninth straight loss while Montreat improves to 17-10 (11-8 in conference games) with their second straight win. Montreat has swept the season series with the Knights, having also taken the first meeting 110-83 back on Dec. 4.
Both teams took one of the first two halves by two points with the Cavaliers winning the first 20 minutes 38-36 before St. Andrews took the second half 50-48. Montreat outscored the Knights 17-11 in overtime. Neither team led by more than nine at any point while the game also had 10 ties and six lead changes.
The biggest lead for the Cavaliers occurred early in the contest with the team going on a 12-1 run after the Knights got the first basket of the game to go up 12-3 after five minutes. St. Andrews’ largest advantage was held early in the second half as they went on a 14-5 run within the first 1:44 of action to turn a 38-36 deficit into a 50-43 lead. Montreat would score the first eight points of overtime unanswered and never look back en route to the victory.
Ma’Nas Drummond was the Knights’ top scorer with 34 points on a 12-17 shooting effort from the floor while also adding four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Christopher Coleman had 23 points on a 10-14 shooting night from the floor while also grabbing a team high nine rebounds, dishing out three assists and had one steal. Jaylin McDuffie also had 21 points.
Despite the loss, the Knights held several statistical advantages. Those include field goal percentage (56.1%-49.3%), three-point percentage (33.3%-16.7%), assists (13-8), points in the paint (46-42) and bench points (9-4).
The Knights will wrap up their 2024-25 season on the road Saturday afternoon against the Bluefield University Rams, a team they previously beat 89-84 back on Jan. 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.