The Columbia International University Women's Basketball team was happy to be back at home after losing to Montreat College on the road on Thursday. The Rams welcomed the Bears of Truett-McConnell University to the Moore Fitness Center today. The Rams came out with lots of energy and went toe to toe with the Bears for 30 minutes, but the Rams fell behind in the last quarter and lost 55-43.

1st Quarter Highlights:

• The Rams and Bears started a little slow to start the game, but the Rams got on the board first with a three by Queeneka Howard
• The Rams would take an early 8-2 lead with a layup by Lakelyn Malovic and a three by Mary Catherine Outlaw
• The Bears would pull within two of the Rams, but a basket by Jordan Sprueill gave the Rams a four point lead back
• The Bears scored the final four points of the quarter and the teams were tied at 12 after ten minutes

2nd Quarter Highlights:

• Britney Brown and Howard scored the first four points of the quarter to take the lead back
• The Bears would tie the game at 16 and take the lead with six minutes left in the half
• The Rams would regain the lead with a three by Jay Mazyck
• The Bears would take the lead again and lead 24-19 with 1:52 left in the half
• The Rams scored the final three points and trailed 24-21 at half

3rd Quarter Highlights:

• The Bears scored the first points of the half and go on a 12-1 run to open the third quarter
• Howard would stop the Bears run with a layup
• With just over two minutes left in quarter the Rams were down by 11
• Sprueill would hit a free throw and Malovic would hit a jumper to pull the Rams within single digits
• Jay Mazyck then took over in the final 38 seconds with two straight threes off assists by Larissa Lee
• At the end of the quarter the Bears led the Rams 36-33

4th Quarter Highlights:

• The Rams continued their run from the third quarter as they scored the first three points with a free throw by Sprueill and a jumper by Lee
• The Bears would score the next four points, but five straight Ram points gave them a 41-40 lead
• The Rams would tie the game at 42 with five minutes left in the game
• The Bears would close the game on a 13-1 run and down the Rams 55-43

Box Score Highlights:

• The Rams struggled from the floor as they shot 25.9% (15-of-58) and were only 5-of-24 from the three point line, while the Bears shot 35.3% from the floor and were 18-of-23 from the free throw line...The Bears held a small 45-40 rebounding advantage...Jordan Sprueill and Jay Mazyck led the Rams with nine points each with Sprueill also having eight rebounds...Lakelyn Malovic had eight points and eight rebounds...Queeneka Howard had a good game with seven points and five rebounds...Natalie Nixon led the Bears with 11 points

Up Next: The Rams will be back in action on Wednesday as they travel to take on Milligan College at 5:30 pm.