BARBOURVILLE, KY. - CIU women's basketball began Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament play with a road game against the No. 8 seeded Union College Bulldogs. The Rams split with the Bulldogs in the regular season, with their most recent meeting being just a week ago, where the Rams came up short 79-71. However, the No. 9 seeded Rams took care of business this time around with a convincing 81-64 win to advance to the quarterfinal round of the AAC Tournament for the second straight season.
The game had the makings of being a wire-to-wire contest, with both teams trading buckets in the early going. CIU knocked down four triples in the first ten minutes, which helped them take a 20-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs would start to settle in on their home court, outscoring the Rams by three in the second quarter. The Rams would only hold a one-point lead going into the break, 34-33.
Queeneka Howard was stellar in the second period scoring eight of CIU's 14 points.
CIU took control of the game in the last two quarters, starting at the 6:49 mark of the third as the Rams went on a 21-6 run. From that sequence on, CIU would continue to knock down shots and play stout defense cruising to an 81-64 win.
Queeneka Howard had a big night for the Rams with 25 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Zion Neat also had a productive outing, scoring 18 points and notching seven boards.
Hannah Trawick gave CIU good minutes, scoring 12 points with six rebounds.
Point guard
Teneea Heston made the most of her actions against Union, scoring 10 points and dishing out six assists.
Madison Hatcher rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points of her own with three 3-pointers.
What Coach Danielle Fleming is saying:
"What a great program win for us! Second-year in a row winning the first round of the tournament. Howard stepped up tonight and played great! Brown was excellent on defense. 18 assists as a team and 92% at the free-throw line! It was win or go home… and we won."
Up Next:
CIU will play next at the MeadowView Conference & Resort Center, in Kingsport, Tenn. matching up with the top-seeded Bryan College Lions in the AAC quarterfinals on Thursday, Feb. 24. Tip-off is scheduled for noon.
