COLUMBIA, S.C. – CIU women's basketball took the court on Tuesday night to face off against St. Andrews University (N.C.) in their second home Appalachian Athletic Conference  (AAC) game of the season. A strong offensive night for the Rams allowed them to take down the Knights 77-61. The Rams are now 3-2 on the season and 2-2 in conference play. 

St. Andrews took the lead just under four minutes into the game. CIU was unable to gain the advantage back until Mariah Leinbach took the court and scored four points to give the Rams the lead at the end of the first quarter. The Knights responded quickly and went up five points at the beginning of the second. However, CIU found their groove offensively and scored 24 points, going into the half up 34-23. 

The Rams stayed dominant in the second half, scoring 20 points in the third thanks to 4-of-6 (66.7%) shooting from behind the arc. St. Andrews stepped up their offensive play in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to hold off CIU. The Rams would hold a lead through the entirety of the second half to seize the double-digit victory.  

Tearra Cook continues to shine for CIU, going 9-of-9 from the field tonight with 19 points. Cook also recorded another double-double as she grabbed 10 rebounds. Madison Hatcher continues to find her groove on the court, scoring 17 points while Leinbach was a force off the bench with a season-high 20 points and three rebounds. Queeneka Howard and Zhani Thompson stepped up defensively for the Rams, collecting a combined 18 rebounds. 

What Coach Danielle Fleming is saying: "So good to get a win on our home floor. Really proud of Mariah stepping up. Tearra being perfect from the field is great. We've missed Howard's ability to stuff the stat sheet so it was great to have her back! Good team win"

Up Next: CIU continues conference play and will take the court Saturday, Nov. 19th at 11 AM to face off against Bryan College (Tenn.).