FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Methodist women's basketball team fell to Averett, 79-47, in the March F. Riddle Center on Wednesday evening.
 
Kaneya Chambers led the Monarchs (1-12, 1-4) with 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the floor and added three rebounds. Kayla Goldsmith finished with 10 points and nine rebounds to go along with a career-high five blocks.
 
MU scored the first points of the contest as Goldsmith hit a layup 30 seconds into the game before the Cougars (8-5, 5-1) embarked on a 15-2 run to assume a 15-4 lead with 6:18 left on the clock in the first quarter. A three-pointer by Chambers trimmed the deficit to seven points (18-11) at the 3:10 mark before AU ended the first quarter with a 28-16 advantage.
 
The Cougars scored five of the first six points of the second period as they pulled ahead by 16 (33-17) with 6:12 left in the half. The Monarchs held AU to just 4 of 15 shooting from the floor over the last six minutes of the half but trailed 42-25 at the break.
 
In the third quarter, the visitors opened with a 13-3 run in under three minutes to pull ahead, 55-28. A pair of free throws and a basket by Kodi Centry cut the lead to 55-32 with 6:05 left in the third quarter, but the Monarchs could not get any closer as they fell by a 79-47 final.
 
For the Cougars, Samm Chandler finished with a game-high 22 points to go with nine rebounds, four steals, two blocks and an assist in 25 minutes. Ravyn Johnson tallied a double-double of 13 poitns and 11 rebounds, while Alixis Roccie and Samantha Tecson each finished in doubles figures scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Additionally for the Monarchs, Centry finished with six points and three rebounds, while Amber Scott picked up four points and five boards.
 
As a team, MU shot 31.0 percent (18-58) from the floor, while the Cougars made 31.9 percent (30-94) of their attempts. The Monarchs were outrebounded 64-44.
 
Methodist returns to action on Satruday, Jan. 13, as it travels to face William Peace at 2 pm.
 
 
 
--