COLUMBIA, SC — CIU women's basketball hit the road to tip off against Appalachian Athletics Conference (AAC) rival, Reinhardt (Ga.) on Saturday. Coming off a win against Brenau (Ga.) on Wednesday, the Rams looked to continue to improve their AAC record. However, a fourth-quarter push from the Eagles resulted in a 75-64 loss for the Rams.

CIU fell behind in the first few minutes of the game and were not able to find the lead in the first quarter, trailing 19-17 after one. The Rams would go up by one (26-25) on a free throw from Hannah Wilkerson for their first lead of the contest at the 7:20 minute mark in the second. A back-and-forth battle ensued with CIU trailing by three after the first half. Despite outscoring the Eagles 20-19 in the third, the Rams were still down by two going into the final quarter. CIU was unable to hold off Reinhardt's fourth-quarter offensive burst as they were outscored by nine in the final period. 

Despite CIU shooting 27-of-59 (45.8%) from the field, they were unable to consistently maintain possession of the ball as they coughed up 17 turnovers. Madison Hatcher led the way for the Rams, with 15 points. Hatcher was also responsible for CIU's nine points from behind the arc turning in three triples. Zhani Thompson collected another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Rams' leading scorer, Wilkerson, continues to be a force on the court with 13 points while Samarian Webb was also impressed on the afternoon, going 4-of-9 (44.4%) from the field with 11 points. Jaylyn Twitty found success off the bench, scoring 6 points and grabbing seven rebounds. 

Hear from Coach Danielle Fleming: 
"Tough game on the road. I believe we played really well, just not enough to win at the end. Love our effort and throughout the season it's going to pay off for us! One game at a time!" 

Up Next: 
CIU returns home on Wednesday, Dec. 7, to face off against Union College (Ky.) at 5:30 PM. The Rams are now 4-6 on the season and 3-4 in conference play.