COLUMBIA, S.C. – CIU women's basketball took the court Tuesday night to face off against Bluefield University (Va.). CIU's last regular-season matchup with Bluefield came back in February and resulted in 79-58  win. Tonight had a different outcome; however, due to a sluggish second-half offense from CIU. The Rams fell 77-66 and are now 3-3 on the season and 2-3 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play. 

CIU started off hot and went up five in the first 45 seconds of the game, all coming from Mariah Leinbach. The Rams held the lead through most of the first and finished the quarter up 20-18. The second quarter saw more scoring from the visitors, as Bluefield started to find the bottom of the net as the first half ended at 37-37. 

CIU came back stronger in the third–scoring 21 points, but were unable to find the stamina to hold off Bluefield in the fourth. A late game push from Bluefield prevented the Rams from scoring more than two points in the last seven minutes of the game, as they were outscored 22-8 in the final period. 

Off the bench, Zhani Thompson recorded another double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Leinbach also scored 14 points, going 5-of-13 from the field. Queeneka Howard had another double-digit scoring night with 11. Hannah Wilkerson was strong on the glass, grabbing seven rebounds. 

Hear from Coach Danielle Fleming: "Tough loss tonight. Wish we could have the fourth quarter back but I'd rather learn now then at the back-end of the season. Growing pains but we'll turn it around!"

Up Next: CIU will head to Kingsport, Tenn., this weekend to compete in NAIA "The Show". They play on Friday, Nov. 25, at 4:15 PM against West Virginia University Institute of Technology and on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 9:30 PM against Rochester University.