KINGSPORT, Tenn. | Despite a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, the Truett McConnell women's basketball team fell to Montreat, 63-59, Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament. Montreat moves on to play Reinhardt tomorrow in the quarterfinals, while TMU's season has completed.

The Bears and Cavaliers played to a 12-11 first quarter before the Bears pulled away in the second quarter to hold a four-point lead going into halftime.

Montreat came out to play in the third quarter as they overwhelmed TMU early on, scoring the first 14 points in the third quarter and 23 of the 33 total points in the frame.

TMU battled back in the fourth quarter behind Anna Murr and Ariana Sanders, cutting the lead to as few as one with 2:31 to play. After the Cavaliers pulled away a bit, the Bears were able to cut it to one again with 24 seconds left after a Murr three pointer, but Montreat held on late through hitting free throws to advance.

Murr finished with a team-high 21 points on 6-12 shooting from three-point land, while Sanders finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

For more information on the AAC Tournament, visit the TOURNAMENT PAGE.