BREVARD, N.C.  Methodist's opening basket, a 3-pointer from Tyzarea Alexander, vaulted the visiting Monarchs to a lead that they then did not surrender in Sunday afternoon's 61-47 non-conference women's basketball victory over host Brevard College.

The trey was one of seven first-half long-range buckets from Methodist, with Kadie Snipes raining down more than half that figure with four. Snipes would go on to hit one more in the second half and, with a 2-for-2 afternoon at the charity stripe, would lead Methodist on the day with 17 points.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Methodist def. Brevard, 61-47
Records: Methodist 1-2, Brevard 1-2
Location: Chick Martin Court; Brevard, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Alexander's 3-pointer erased a 2-0 deficit, and soon after Snipes dropped in her first of the afternoon for a 6-2 advantage.
• Methodist led by six (20-14) after the first quarter, and 10 minutes later went into the halftime break with a 36-25 advantage over the Tornados.
• The Monarchs left no doubt as to the outcome with a game-deciding third quarter in which they outscored Brevard by a 15-6 count, pushing the lead to 20 points.
• During that 10-minute span, Methodist limited the Tornados to under 12% shooting from the floor (2-for-17, including 0-for-3 from behind the arc), while accumulating its 15 points from seven different scorers.
• For the entirety of the game Brevard picked up points from just six players, against the 10 Monarchs that recorded at least two points.
• Though the battle on the glass was a draw (43-43), the Monarchs had a stellar afternoon around their defensive rim, coming down with 32 rebounds to cause many one-and-done's for the Tornado offense.
• As with the point scoring, rebounding, too, was spread across the roster as 10 players came down with at least one rebound, led by the seven boards from Jazanae Billings.
• Alexander's opening trey wasn't her only points on the afternoon as she finished with 17, out done only by Snipes and Brevard's Krysta Davis who led all scorers with 19.
• Though Brevard and Methodist are both members of the USA Athletic Conference, games against the opposite divisions -- East and West -- do not count at conference contests.

NEXT UP
The Monarchs continue their early-season stretch of non-conference opponents, welcoming Piedmont International University to the Riddle Center on Thursday for a 7 p.m. contest.