COLUMBIA, S.C – Just a little over a week removed from their last bout with Brenau University, CIU hosted the Golden Tigers in a home contest on Saturday. The game was critical to upcoming Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) playoff berths as both CIU and Brenau are vying for a spot in the top eight teams in the conference. The game would take a similar course as the previous match-up between the two teams and ultimately resulted in a 67-58 win for the Golden Tigers.
How It Happened:
First Half: BU 33 CIU 21: Brenau led 19-9 at the end of the first quarter and then took a 25-9 lead in the second period. The Rams would keep pace through the latter half of the quarter and only trail 33-21 at the break. Hannah Trawick was impressive for CIU in the first half with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Second Half: BU 67 CIU 58: CIU came roaring out of the gate in the second half to take a 39-37 lead over Brenau on a Jordin McQueen triple with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter. CIU was unable to hang onto the lead, however, and despite outscoring, the Golden Tigers in the third quarter still trailed 50-44, heading into the fourth. CIU battled, but it seemed Brenau had an answer for every Rams attempt at a comeback. McQueen drilled another 3-pointer with :26 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to 64-58, but it was too late as CIU would not score again, yielding to Brenau 67-58.
Game Notes:
- Leading scorer Zion Neat struggled to find the bottom of the net, going 5-19 from the field. She still managed a double-double with 15 rebounds and 14 points.
- Hannah Trawick had another career outing as she snagged 15 rebounds and scored 10 points for her own double-double.
- Jordin McQueen and Keniah Watkins went a combined 6-27 from the field as McQueen scored 13 points and Watkins tallied 10 points; Watkins also had eight rebounds.
- CIU out-rebounded the Golden Tigers 58-43, but the story of the game was scoring as the Rams were a dismal 20-70 from the field (28.6 %).
Hear from head coach Danielle Fleming postgame:
Up Next:
CIU looks to get back in the win column versus the winless St. Andrew's Knights on Monday at 5 PM in Laurinburg, North Carolina.