Women's Basketball | 12/4/2012 9:47:00 PM

Box Score FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Emily Huneycutt scored 16 of her career-high 21 points in the first half and the Methodist women's basketball team held Salem College to just 18 points after the break in cruising to a 75-52 win over the Spirits on Tuesday night at the Riddle Center.
 
Huneycutt knocked down 6-of-11 shots from the field, including 5-of-8 three pointers, en route to a new career best and leading the Monarchs (6-2) to their sixth straight win. Salem suffered its first loss of the season and is now 4-1 on the year.
 
After Salem took its largest lead of the game at 17-13 with 13:13 to play in the first half, Methodist used the three-point shot to go on a 16-4 scoring run and take a 29-21 lead with 8:01 left until halftime and never looked back. Courtney Woods began the run with a triple and Iesha Hayes hit a shot from long range on the Monarchs' next possession to put MU up 19-17. Woods came back with another triple three possessions later and Huneycutt capped the run with her second three of the first half, forcing Salem to call for time.
 
The Monarchs would extend their first-half lead to as much as 14 (42-28) on a T.T. Taylor layup, before Salem scored the final six points of the half to pull within eight points (42-34) at the break.
 
In the second half, MU went on a 10-0 run over the first 6:25 to push out to an 18-point lead (52-34) on another three from Huneycutt before Kristal Lollis broke the Spirits' slump with a jumper at the 13:35 mark. Salem never pulled any closer than 15 points the remainder of the way as the Monarchs won their sixth straight game for the first time in over 10 years.
 
For the game, the Monarchs shot 48.9 percent from the field (23-37), including a blistering 64.3 percent (9-14) from beyond the arc. Salem finished at 31.7 percent (20-63), including just 19.4 percent (6-31) over the final 20 minutes. The Spirits held a slight edge on the glass, 39-38, including a 20-11 edge in offensive rebounding.
 
In addition to Huneycutt's game-high 21, Brianna Robinson added 13 ponts, hitting 9-of-12 foul shots, and Taylor added a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds while dishing out five assists. Hayes finished with seven points, five boards, five assists and three steals.
 
The Spirits were led by Satavia Taylor, who scored 16 points but shot just 6-of-24. She also had six steals and a team-best eight rebounds. Quntashea Lewis chipped in eight points and Shamaz Denerson added five points and seven rebounds.
 
The Monarchs are now off until Jan. 4 when they host N.C. Wesleyan at 7:00 pm.