FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Methodist women's basketball team used a huge second half to post a 74-56 win over Averett on Saturday afternoon at the March F. Riddle Center.
 
The Monarchs (4-12, 4-6), behind 18 second-half points from Monique Lofton, outscored Averett (6-10, 4-6), 53-30, over the game's final 20 minutes to win for the second time in as many outings. Lofton tied a school-record with six three pointers in the contest, hitting 6-of-9 attempts from long range in the second half.
 
Methodist, which trailed 26-21 at the half, opened the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 29-26 lead with 16:18 left to play. Sydney Bryan began the scoring with a jumper just 10 seconds into the period, and she added a free throw moments later. Lofton's first triple of the second half gave MU its first lead (27-26) since the 9:16 mark of the first half, and Jasmine Canady added a pair of free throws with 16:18 to play for a 29-26 lead.
 
The Monarchs still held a three-point lead (35-32) with 12:55 on the clock before using a 20-5 surge to take a commanding 55-38 lead with 6:50 to play. Methodist received seven points from Alexis Wallace during the game-clinching run, and hit 6-of-11 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws during the surge, while limiting AU to 3-of-10 shooting. Lofton added four triples in the game's final six minutes to douse any comeback chance by the Cougars.
 
Neither team shot the ball well over the game's first 20 minutes, as MU hit 30.0 percent (9-30) of its shots, and Averett connected on just 28.6 percent (10-35) of its field goal attempts. The Cougars took advantage of 17 turnovers by the Monarchs in the opening half to build its five-point lead at the break.
 
For the game, the Monarchs finished at 41.0 percent (25-61) shooting, including 10-of-20 from long range. They also held a 50-39 edge on the glass, due in large part to a 29-15 lead in the second half. Averett shot 32.4 percent as a team (23-71) and were shut out from beyond the arc (0-13).
 
In addition to Lofton's 18 points, Wallace notched her second straight double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Jasmine Canady added a season-high 13 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists. Jalisia Campbell chipped in 11 points, nine boards and four assists, and Bryan had seven points, six rebounds and three blocks.
 
Averett was led by Brianna Taylor, who scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Jessica Myers had 10 points, and Jonna Koski contributed eight points and 10 rebounds. Samm Chandler, coming off a 30-point performance, finished with eight points and eight rebounds, but shot just 3-of-14 from the floor.
 
Methodist is back in action on Wednesday at Meredith beginning at 7:30 pm.