By Gordon Gundblach
Staff Writer

Freshman Lindsey Montgomery dropped 15 points and snagged 15 rebounds in her collegiate debut, as the women’s basketball team blasted Montreat College 75-48 in the Justice Center Monday night.

“I was pleased with the game,” said Head Coach Betsy Blose. “It’s early in the season; there’s a lot to work on. We can play faster. We’ve been practicing since August, so it’s nice to get a game in. The freshmen got their feet wet. For our opener, I thought we did a lot of good things.”

Junior Ana Baker led the team with eight steals. Baker scored 11 points for the Bulldogs, and passed seven assists.

“Ana Baker was amazing. I think she tied the school record for steals tonight. I thought she did a great job leading the team,” Blose said.

The Bulldogs held the lead against the Cavaliers at the half, 37-26, but the team was out-rebounded, according to Blose.

“I think we started off slow in the first half, but we picked up momentum in the second half,” Baker said.

Baker said she was frustrated when the team was rebounded at the half.

“That’s really what we’ve got to be, a rebound team. I yelled at them,” Blose said.

The Bulldogs picked up rebounds in the second half, and finished the game with 55 rebounds, while Montreat managed 40.

Freshman Kiana Rainey and sophomores Kyla Jones and Rachel Williams spent the game on the bench.

“We have some injuries, but hopefully everyone will be able to play soon,” Blose said.

The Bulldogs lost upperclassmen from their championship season but gained five freshmen.

“We have a lot of new people, and we’re all going to have to step up,” Baker said.

The Bulldogs played a full court press for the entire game, and made the Cavaliers work hard for every throw and every movement down the court.

“We’re a young team, and we can run the court. Ninety-four feet, for 40 minutes,” Baker said. “We’ve a very fast team, that’s what we want to excel at.”

Freshman Chioma Okoli scored 14 points for the Bulldogs in her debut, and Baker contributed 10 points.

“I played decently, but I’ll have to step up more. We’ve lost a lot of scorers,” Baker said. Besides Baker’s stellar defensive performance, the Bulldogs as a team recorded 19 total steals against three steals for Montreat.

“We’re fierce on the boards,” Blose said. “It was a good game defensively for our team, our young players really stepped up when we needed them to.”

Montreat has a new coach, which made the team more difficult to beat, according to Blose. The Bulldogs have another home game Friday against Davidson College, which started their season 0-1.

“Montreat is much better than last year,” she said.