LAKE WALES, Fla. – The CIU women's basketball program finished up a three-game road trip through Florida on Thursday as CIU battled Warner University. CIU came into the evening riding high off a win over Webber International on Wednesday. Fellow NCCAA member, Warner, entered the contest playing their first game in almost a month. While CIU led for much of the competition, the Royals were hungry for a win and defeated CIU in heartbreaking fashion 55-53. The Rams are now 5-7 on the season and will look to bounce back after the Holidays.

How It Happened:

First Half: WU 22 CIU 21: Both teams set a precedent for a low scoring affair as the first quarter ended deadlocked at 11-11. The Royals jumped out to a 19-11 advantage to start the second quarter, but CIU climbed their way back to cut the lead to 22-20 on a Jordin McQueen three-pointer with 1:13 left in the half. McQueen then knocked down a free throw in the waning seconds, and the Royals took a one-point advantage into halftime. Zion Neat led the Rams in the first half with seven points, while Jordin McQueen had six points and four rebounds.

Second Half: WU 55 CIU 53: The Rams entered the third quarter firing on all cylinders as CIU scored 25 points in the third, going 8-15 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc. CIU boasted a 10 point 46-36 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Poor shooting crippled CIU in the fourth quarter as the Rams only shot 2-11 from the field in the final period. CIU clung to a 53-51 lead with a minute remaining but good defense by the Royals and made free throws gave Warner a 55-53 lead with 6 seconds left in the contest. A well-executed sideline out of bounds play gave Queeneka Howard a chance to tie the game with a short floater, but the ball would roll out, handing CIU a gut-wrenching loss.

Game Notes:

• A productive road trip continued for Jordan Sprueill as the graduate student had 10 points and eight rebounds.
• Freshman Zion Neat had 16 points and six rebounds while shooting 50% (3-6) from deep.
• Jordin McQueen had 13 points and seven boards as the junior transfer as scored in double-figures nine of the Rams 12 games.
• CIU rebounded the ball well as a team outrebounding the Royals 44 to 41 but struggled in the turnover department, giving the ball away 23 times.

What Coach Danielle Fleming is saying:

"We had too many mistakes down the stretch, and it ended up costing us the game. I am looking forward to the second half of the season."

Up Next:
The Ram's next contest will be in 2021 as CIU hosts Tennessee Wesleyan on January 2nd at 2 PM.