COLUMBIA, S.C. – The CIU women's basketball team continues on a roller coaster of a month on Tuesday as they took on the Montreat Cavaliers. CIU lost to the Cavaliers early this season but would even the series in Tuesday's contest. The Rams knocked off Montreat on a Zion Neat game-winning put-back to move CIU to 8-10 on the season. The win also vaults CIU into the 9th spot in the Appalachian Athletic Conference standings.

How It Happened:

First Half CIU 39 MC 30: Keniah Watkins and Jordin McQueen got the scoring going early for the Rams, but a late first-quarter 3-pointer by Zion Neat helped CIU to a 21-14 advantage after one. The second quarter was highlighted by Hannah Trawick, who came off the bench to give the Rams a lift. Trawick scored four second-quarter points and finished the half with six points as CIU led 39-30 at the break.

Second Half: CIU 66 MC 64: The Cavaliers battled back in the third quarter to take a 47-45 lead with 3:27 remaining in the period. Montreat held the Rams to just eight points in the quarter and grasped a 51-47 advantage heading into the final period. CIU never led in the fourth quarter until Madison Ferrara knocked a go-ahead 3-pointer to give CIU a 62-61 lead with 2:16 remaining. Ferrara then calmly sunk two free throws on the next possession to push the advantage to 64-61. Montreat would answer with a 3-pointer of their own to tie the contest 64-64. With three seconds remaining, Zion Neat would break the tie at the buzzer, following up a Keniah Watkins miss to give CIU a thrilling 66-64 victory.

Game Notes:

• Keniah Watkins led CIU scoring with 14 points, three steals, and four assists.
• Zion Neat and Jordin McQueen played essential roles on offense and on the boards, as Neat had nine points and six rebounds, while McQueen scored 13 points and seven rebounds.
• Jordan Sprueill was one rebound shy of a double-digit rebound game as she pulled nine boards and had six points.
•  On top of her clutch scores, Madison Ferrara had 11 points on 3-6 shooting from the field.
• Hannah Trawick scored eight points off the bench for CIU going 50% from the field and 2-4 from the line.
• CIU was 15-17 from the charity stripe shooting a notable 88% from the line.
• The win over Montreat was CIU's first win over the Cavaliers.

Up Next:

CIU will be back home on Thursday, January 21st at 5 PM to battle St. Andrews Knights.