MILLIGAN, TN. - CIU women's basketball hit the road for their second battle with Milligan University (Tenn.) this season. The Rams defeated Milligan in an earlier meeting 98-88 at home on Dec. 1. CIU could not complete the sweep as they fell to the Buffs, 98-77. The Rams move to 7-10 overall and 5-7 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). Each game begins to become more important as the Rams aim to clinch home-court advantage for the opening round of the AAC tournament.  

CIU has consistently played well out the gate, which proved to be the story again today, as the game was tied 18-18 at the end of the first quarter. The Rams shot 8-of-16 in the quarter, led by transfer guard Teneea Heston who tallied six points. However, the Rams have often gotten themselves into a deficit in the second quarter several games this season. The Rams struggled to stop the Buffs on the defensive end, committing ten fouls during the ten-minute span. The Buffs capitalized on their attempts at the line in the quarter, going 9-of-13, which proved to be the difference in the quarter. After being tied at the end of the first, the Rams would trail by ten at the half, 44-34.

CIU started to close the gap in the third, cutting the Buff's lead to seven (58-51) with 3:16 remaining in the quarter. Unfortunately, Milligan would go on a 12-2 run to close the quarter with a 70-53 lead. The Buffs would continue to stretch their lead in the fourth, despite CIU recording their highest-scoring quarter of the contest. As a result, the Ram's fell to Milligan 98-77 on the road. 

Teneea Heston had another big-time scoring night with 25 points on 9-of-22 shooting. Jordin McQueen also reached double-figures with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting to go along with four rebounds. Freshman forward, Mariah Leinbach scored seven points off the bench and snagged four boards of her own.

What Coach Danielle Fleming is saying: 
"I didn't feel as we were aggressive enough in the first half. They had too many easy baskets. We have to learn how to be consistent on both sides of the ball." 

Up Next:
CIU's next game which was scheduled for Saturday against Columbia College at 2 PM has been postponed. The next game for the Rams will be Tuesday, Jan. 25. at 5:30 PM against Brenau University (Ga.) at the Moore Fitness Center.