Charlotte, NC - Johnson & Wales staged a furious second half rally last night against the visiting Montreat Cavaliers. They cut an 18 point 3rd quarter deficit to a single point, but could not get over the top, eventually falling 64-59.

Following a tightly contested 1st quarter, Montreat used hot shooting and a full court press on defense to build a twelve point halftime lead, 36-24. They would extend their lead to 18 at 51-33 with 4:35 left in the 3rd quarter on a Sienna Hicks 3-pointer. 

Over the next 10 minutes, the Wildcats (3-1) used a 19-7 spurt to get within six points at 58-52. Their run was keyed by Vanderia Shackleford's 7 points during that span. JWU then combined tough defense with getting the ball into Donyelle Stuetley and Ineesha Hankerson for easy baskets down low to close the gap even further. A Stuetley free throw with :37 left brought the Wildcats to within one point at 60-59. They could not force a turnover on the next Montreat possession and instead had to foul. Montreat converted their free throws in the last thirty seconds to secure the 64-59 final margin.

Stuetley led all scorers with 21 points, setting a new career high. She also added 6 rebounds. Shackleford had 11 points and 7 rebounds. Jaquana Pauling chipped in with 10 rebounds and Anaja Matthews added 5 steals. 

The Wildcats are next in action Saturday as they travel to Voorhees on Saturday to take on their 3rd consecutive NAIA opponent. Game time is 1pm.