COLUMBIA, S.C. – The CIU women's basketball team stayed local Tuesday night as they played their second Appalachian Athletic Conference game of the season against crosstown rival Columbia College. The contest was a high scoring affair as both teams played fast the majority of the night. However, the Koalas would eclipse the century mark to knock off CIU 103-91. The Rams fall to 1-2 on the season, while Columbia picks up their first win of the year to move to 1-1.

How It Happened:
First Half: CC 62 CIU 44: After an early 7-7 tie between the two teams, Columbia College would go on a14 to 4 run to extend the lead out to 21-11. CIU cut the lead to 23 -15 after a Briyaun Stewart jumper, but trailed 33-22 after the end of the first quarter. The Koalas extended the advantage in the second quarter to take 62-44 lead into halftime. Stewart and Hannah Trawick led the way at halftime as Stewart recorded 9 points in the first half while Trawick was a perfect 3-3 from the field, scoring 7 points.

Second Half: CC 102 CIU 92: There was no shortage of scoring in the second half as both teams continued to score off turnovers. CIU started the second quarter on a 12-0 run fueled by scoring from Keniah Watkins and Jordin McQueen. CIU would continue to battle and only trail by seven at the end of the third quarter 76-69. Columbia pulled away in the fourth but a three from Keniah Watkins cut the Koala advantage to just 98-89 with 1:31 remaining. The Rams were unable to mount a comeback, however, and dropped their second AAC game of the season.

What Coach Danielle Fleming is saying:

"We shot almost 50% from the field, made 9 three's and had 48 rebounds... turnovers killed us tonight but as a young team we'll make those mistakes. We are building on this and preparing for Thursday".

Game Notes:

• Keniah Watkins led the Rams in scoring with a season-high of 19 points.
• The Rams had three other players in double figures as Jordin McQueen had 11 points, Briyaun Stewart notched 16 points, and Hannah Trawick had 13 points.
• CIU's downfall came from their ability to take care of the ball as they had a whopping 40 turnovers.
• Coach Fleming's squad, was sharp from downtown as the Rams short 43% from deep, knocking down 9 triples.
• Despite a plethora of points on the board, both teams were dismal from the charity stripe as the Rams shot 62% from the line and the Koalas were at 51%.

Up Next:
The Rams return home to take on the St. Andrews Knights on Thursday at 5 PM.